Sept. 3, 1924鈥揊eb. 15, 2021
Florence Gillam Hobin Birdwell was born in Douglas, Arizona, to Grace (Gillam) and Warner Hobin. She died peacefully in Yukon, Oklahoma.
Birdwell was an iconic figure at 野狼社区 University as one of the longest-serving faculty members, at 67 years as voice professor. She earned a reputation first as a gifted performer, and then as a trainer and mentor to hundreds of other performers on Broadway and opera stages around the world, including stars such as Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O鈥橦ara.
She and her younger brother, Bill, were raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Lawton, Oklahoma. Florence graduated from Lawton High School in 1941.
A promising vocal artist, she received a scholarship to OCU. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1945 and a Master of Arts in Teaching in 1969, both from OCU. Birdwell became an assistant professor in 1976 and full professor in 1988.
At OCU, she met the love of her life, Robert Lee Birdwell, and after his return from submarine duty in World War II, they married in 1945.
Birdwell鈥檚 life at OCU never really ended. Her dream of performing on Broadway was waylaid by a throat condition that permanently altered her approach to singing. She credited her teaching success to techniques learned while overcoming the injury at the age of 21, the same year she had been invited to join the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera and to audition for the role of Laurey in the movie 鈥淥klahoma!鈥� She told The Daily Oklahoman: 鈥淲hen I called in tears to my teacher (voice professor Inez Silberg), she said, 鈥楴o, no, you must not cry. You cannot sing now, maybe, but you can certainly talk.鈥� Well, I did. And I鈥檓 still doing that. I am talking. Can you hear me? Oh, yes. Yay!鈥�
Thus began an OCU teaching career that spanned nearly seven decades. Her impact cannot be overstated.
鈥淔lorence Birdwell鈥檚 impact is felt far beyond the studios and classrooms,鈥� said OCU President Martha Burger. 鈥淚t extends to stages and theaters around the country and world, and to the hundreds of musical careers she has helped shape.鈥�
Other notable students include Tony nominee Lara Teeter, Miss America 1981 Susan Powell, and Barbara Fox DeMaio, associate professor of voice at the University of Central Oklahoma. Each of her students recalled her passion, her dedication, and the way her teaching influenced every facet of their lives. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2012 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts by OCU in 2016.
Soon after retiring from OCU, Birdwell traveled to New York in 2015, when perhaps her greatest professional achievement materialized. She became one of the world鈥檚 only professors to have two alumni nominated for a Tony Award in the same category in the same year.
Chenoweth (BM 鈥�91, MM 鈥�93, and HDHL 鈥�13) and O鈥橦ara (BM 鈥�98, HDHL 鈥�15) earned Tony nominations that year for best leading actress in a musical. O鈥橦ara won the award for her role in 鈥淭he King and I.鈥�
During her acceptance speech, O鈥橦ara announced to the world her appreciation for Birdwell鈥檚 training.
鈥淚 come from a place far away and there鈥檚 a little teacher there, and two of us tonight, Kristin and I, share her,鈥� O鈥橦ara said in her speech. 鈥淔lorence Birdwell, thank you.鈥�
In the words of Martha Graham: 鈥淭here is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.鈥�
In the words of Florence Birdwell: 鈥溾�楾o do is to be.鈥� That鈥檚 Socrates. 鈥楾o be is to do.鈥� That鈥檚 Plato. 鈥楧oo-bee-doo-bee-doooo.鈥� That鈥檚 Sinatra!鈥�
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Robert & Florence Birdwell Endowed Vocal Scholarship by visiting okcu.edu/birdwell or by calling 405-208-7000 so her voice may echo through those walls for years to come.
Your voice rings in my ear forever, Florence. I will miss you as long as I live. 鈥�Kristin Chenoweth
As she often said, she taught voice and she taught life. A rarity in the profession of voice teaching, she was equally passionate about opera and musical theater. 鈥�Mark Parker, dean of OCU鈥檚 Wanda L. Bass School of Music
