The Daily Northwestern
When Mike Kocour leaves Northwestern for a tenured position at Arizona State University in August, the one thing he will enjoy more than his big new job is the big new golf course nearby.
Kocour, a senior jazz studies lecturer in the School of Music, will leave NU at the end of the year to become an associate professor and director of the jazz studies department at Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. Heather Landes, assistant dean for music admission and financial aid and Kocour’s wife, will leave her position at NU as well.
“This job is a major promotion — it’s a huge promotion,” Kocour said. “This would also mean an extended golf season, of course.”
Kocour, who has taught at NU since 1991, said he will miss NU when he leaves — especially his students. But the couple, both avid golfers, have plenty of reason to be happy in Arizona.
Kocour earned his master’s degree in music theory while teaching at NU. He was born in Chicago and has lived in the area most of his life.
An accomplished pianist, he said he will return to NU often to visit the university and give occasional performances for his old audiences.
“I don’t regret a single day I’ve had at Northwestern,” he said. “This has been the greatest experience of my life.”
The “Mike Kocour Trio” has become a regular feature at Pete Miller’s Steakhouse, 1557 Sherman Ave., on Monday nights.
Kocour was an applicant among a large, competitive pool, said Wayne Bailey, the director of the School of Music at Arizona State — the sixth largest music school in the country. Kocour formalized his decision to leave NU last week.
“His enthusiasm for jazz in general is extremely important to us,” he said. “It’s extremely important to us that all our music majors have exposure to jazz, and we thought that (Kocour’s) ability was very positive.”
But it will be hard to leave, Kocour said.
“There will be tears in my eyes at graduation,” he said.
Kocour said he has formed countless ties with other musicians during his years living and teaching in the jazz-rich city of Chicago. But it’s time to move on, he said. He hopes to form new ties with musicians in Los Angeles and the greater Southwest when he arrives at Arizona State.
“I’ve been deeply implanted in the Chicago music community for a long time,” Kocour said. “I’ve pretty much done everything I can do in Chicago. You won’t meet many professors at Northwestern who have lived their entire life on the North Shore.”
Landes, Kocour’s wife, could not be reached for comment Monday or Tuesday, but Kocour said she will not take a job at Arizona State.
Kocour’s students and colleagues said they are proud to see a music faculty member take on such a prestigious position. They are both saddened and proud that he is moving on.
“I met him the second day I came to school,” said Weinberg senior Lee Rothenberg, who has studied guitar under Kocour for all four of his years at NU. “I went down to the music building to talk to someone, and he was the first person I ran into. He told me to audition, and during my audition, he recognized me as someone who was really interested in music.
“I guess I was lucky enough to be one of the freshmen that he would offer lessons to.”
David Ness, a jazz studies lecturer who has known Kocour since arriving at NU in 1998, said it will be difficult to see Kocour leave.
“It’s bittersweet,” Ness said. “I’m happy for him, but I’m also sad to see him go from there. He’s a great colleague and a great jazz musician and a great teacher.”