It is with profound sorrow that the Department of Music announces the passing of Professor Robert Kent Mueller. He was a beloved member of the U of A community for 37 years and will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Both a visitation and memorial service for Dr. Mueller will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. The visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, and the memorial will be at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12.

A collection of some of his inspiring work can be found on his YouTube channel, and a full obituary and tribute wall are available online.

Dr. Mueller came to the U of A in 1988 and began his career teaching music composition and theory and coordinating the class piano program. He later became the conductor for the University Symphony Orchestra, a responsibility which he passionately carried out for over 20 years.

Over the course of his nearly four-decade career as a professor, Mueller touched the lives of thousands of students. He impacted hundreds more through his summer position at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, where he taught for 15 summers. He was a gifted teacher who found great satisfaction in helping his students progress as performers, conductors, educators and composers.

Muller was likewise an accomplished, multi-award-winning composer, writing prolifically in many genres, including full symphonic programmatic works, vocal and instrumental chamber music, and sacred works. His music was performed by numerous orchestras nationwide, and at the U of A, by the University Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensemble, the Percussion Ensemble, the Lyrique Quintette and the Arkansas Brassworks.

He received many commissions and was widely published and performed. He produced three chamber music albums, most recently the double album Dream Gardens, on the MSR Classics label, which was described as "a tour de force that showcases the breadth and depth of his artistic vision," and featured works he wrote over the entire span of his career.

He served as composer-in-residence three times for the Fort Smith Symphony and as guest composer-in-residence for several universities. He also held the principal keyboard positions in the Arkansas Philharmonic and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and was the conductor for Opera Fayetteville for five years, as well as being music director of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville.

Mueller was known as a modern-day Bach who would frequently improvise at the organ based on a favorite hymn tune, and he left behind hundreds of original choral and handbell anthems.

He also had a passion for meteorology and loved nothing more than spending time with his beloved family. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and brother-in-law. He was deeply cherished by all his family.

Mueller is survived by his wife, Theresa Delaplain, who is an assistant professor of music and oboe at the U of A; by his children, Tara Mueller, Erica Downs (married to Thomas Downs) and Alex Mueller; by his grandchildren, Forrest Downs and River Downs; and by his siblings, Jon Mueller, Ruth Schroeder, Dev Schleben, Tim Mueller and Bill Mueller.