This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Jody Nagel. We will remember him forever.
"Jody was a very special man with a good heart. His work and spirit defined the composition program at Ball State. Far beyond that he was a fine professor to me and a trustworthy colleague to whom I have much to be thankful for. He wrote so much music that he had a piece for every occasion. He was generous within his means, and generous with his time to his friends. It hit me hard when I heard of his passing."
-Christoph
-Christoph
"Like his music and creativity, may this tree continue to benefit the world and environment around it."
-Thorne & Yunmi Abbott
A Memorial Tree was ordered in memory of Jody J. Nagel at Parson Mortuary
-Thorne & Yunmi Abbott
A Memorial Tree was ordered in memory of Jody J. Nagel at Parson Mortuary
"Our dear friend Jody Nagel passed away last weekend. It was sudden, unexpected, and way too early. Jody was a genial, generous-spirited genius. He made the world a brighter place and had so much more to give. He was a gifted, prolific composer who wrote several wonderful pieces for us. He was a doting dad who raised two brilliant girls, Ashley and Athena. Our families were closest of friends from our time in Muncie and have kept in close touch over the years, often staying with them as a halfway point on our trips to and from NJ. His wife Eun Hee and Carrie were best of friends and kindred spirits who especially enjoyed preparing amazing food for our family get-togethers, or just taking off at the drop of the hat to do fun things together. Jody was a generous, loyal friend, always joyful in thoughtful, speculative conversation, with a wide-ranging intellect. We had recently hatched projects to prepare new performing editions of works of Grieg, and I was so looking forward to the chance to work with him and be in more frequent contact. We treasure our memories together, but are devastated by his loss and miss him terribly. We send our love and comfort to his dear family."
-Rolf Erdahl, posted on Parson Mortuary
-Rolf Erdahl, posted on Parson Mortuary
"Dr. Nagel was much appreciated by his students and his memory lives on in us."
-Jumi Kim
A Memorial Tree was ordered in memory of Jody J. Nagel at Parson Mortuary
-Jumi Kim
A Memorial Tree was ordered in memory of Jody J. Nagel at Parson Mortuary
"So sorry to hear of Jody's passing. I met him in the WW meeting room. I absolutely loved the fact that his daughter came with him to support him as he began his journey. Jody was so incredibly intelligent and mindful, his thoughts on our weekly workshop techniques were always welcomed by coaches and members. He never left a workshop without passing along a kind word to me. Deepest sympathies to the family and friends of this special man."
-Christy, posted on Parson Mortuary
-Christy, posted on Parson Mortuary
"Jody was such a welcoming presence for me in my first days at Ball State. I’ll always treasure our lively conversations in the hallway down on the first floor. I’ll also miss his intellect and his passion for music."
-Jon Truitt, posted on Parson Mortuary
-Jon Truitt, posted on Parson Mortuary
"Athena and family, sending peace and light to you.
In sympathy, the Conner/Kraud family"
-Dawn Conner-Kraud, posted on Parson Mortuary
In sympathy, the Conner/Kraud family"
-Dawn Conner-Kraud, posted on Parson Mortuary
"Jody was an amazing composer and teacher. He opened my mind to the profound beauties in Romantic theory that I still think about all the time. Including the Big Dom! Thanks for impacting my life. Jody was too young to go. Sympathies to his beautiful and talented daughters."
-Linley Baker, posted on Parson Mortuary
-Linley Baker, posted on Parson Mortuary
I met Jody for the first time the day before classes began in the fall of 1992. He was beginning his first semester as professor, and I was beginning my freshman year. I was waiting for my locker assignment at the school of music, and he was waiting for a key to his office. We had a long conversation about music we liked and music we wanted to write. When he was told that he didn't need to wait in line behind students, he seemed slightly outraged at the idea of cutting in line. He insisted on waiting.
We had a long friendship after that. We've stayed in touch over the years. But everything you need to know about Jody was apparent in that first 20 minutes.
We had a long friendship after that. We've stayed in touch over the years. But everything you need to know about Jody was apparent in that first 20 minutes.
There are so many wonderful and enriching conversations I had during the time I was blessed to be Jody's colleague. Jody's gift of concomitantly possessing one of the most brilliant minds I've ever personally known while also always interacting with those around him with a warm-spirited co-equality was his uncanny essence. Here's one of many stories I could share. One (among several) early AM (as in between 1 and 3 a.m.) meetings he and I had as fellow insomniacs in the School of Music's computer lab was as I walked in on him perusing the score to Mozart 40's opening Allegro, measures 150 and 152 in particular, fascinated at the voice-leading of the winds' dialogue with the strings. The harmony in particular is a unique, four-voice motion in half steps to the work's dominant, DMm7 that dwells in place before the return of the main theme, that is out of this world! An E-flat, B natural, G#, G natural that slides to D, C, A, and F# respectively. We talked about this mesmerizing verticality for well over twenty minutes, re-confirming its beyond-category status. Nope, not some alternate augmented sixth, not derivable as some mere chromatic alteration of some other more potentially common chord, but rather just beautifully inexplicable voice-leading that miraculously allowed Mozart to sound an enharmonically spelled G# minor-major 7th chord and artfully approach a dominant seventh whose root was a tritone away. We played the progression again and again, each time laughing in amazement! The joy that arose between both of us in that moment of contemplation is how I will always remember Jody and the way he enriched the lives of all around him.
Leave a Tribute
Recent Tributes
"Jody was a very special man with a good heart. His work and spirit defined the composition program at Ball State. Far beyond that he was a fine professor to me and a trustworthy colleague to whom I have much to be thankful for. He wrote so much music that he had a piece for every occasion. He was generous within his means, and generous with his time to his friends. It hit me hard when I heard of his passing."
-Christoph
-Christoph
"Like his music and creativity, may this tree continue to benefit the world and environment around it."
-Thorne & Yunmi Abbott
A Memorial Tree was ordered in memory of Jody J. Nagel at Parson Mortuary
-Thorne & Yunmi Abbott
A Memorial Tree was ordered in memory of Jody J. Nagel at Parson Mortuary
"Our dear friend Jody Nagel passed away last weekend. It was sudden, unexpected, and way too early. Jody was a genial, generous-spirited genius. He made the world a brighter place and had so much more to give. He was a gifted, prolific composer who wrote several wonderful pieces for us. He was a doting dad who raised two brilliant girls, Ashley and Athena. Our families were closest of friends from our time in Muncie and have kept in close touch over the years, often staying with them as a halfway point on our trips to and from NJ. His wife Eun Hee and Carrie were best of friends and kindred spirits who especially enjoyed preparing amazing food for our family get-togethers, or just taking off at the drop of the hat to do fun things together. Jody was a generous, loyal friend, always joyful in thoughtful, speculative conversation, with a wide-ranging intellect. We had recently hatched projects to prepare new performing editions of works of Grieg, and I was so looking forward to the chance to work with him and be in more frequent contact. We treasure our memories together, but are devastated by his loss and miss him terribly. We send our love and comfort to his dear family."
-Rolf Erdahl, posted on Parson Mortuary
-Rolf Erdahl, posted on Parson Mortuary
Gallery
Recent stories