Jim Erwin Fritschel

Jim Fritschel was born on May 13, 1929, in Greeley, Colorado. He was originally named “Erwin James,” after his father Erwin (Doc) Fritschel, but Doc and his wife, Irma (Hast), always called him Jim, Jimmy, or James. And it stuck. Jim grew up as the eldest of three sons. With a pastor father and a church organist mother, Jim grew up surrounded by Lutheran faith and music. Word has it that sometimes the pastor was paid in bags of potatoes, and frugal Irma managed to readily feed the family with those provisions. Despite tough times, Jim’s parents gave him a French horn for Christmas when he was a teen. Although he was more interested in sports, he progressed quickly with his musical studies and was accepted as a high school freshman to the summer band at Colorado State College, and later the Greeley Philharmonic.

After graduating high school, Jim studied at Colorado State College for a year. But when his uncle Conrad Becker became president at Wartburg College, a Lutheran liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa, he encouraged Jim to enroll there. Jim transferred to Wartburg, where he joined both the band and the choir. One day his choir director, Edwin Liemohn, seeing promise in Jim, unexpectedly asked him to conduct the choir. That was all it took to kindle Jim’s lifelong passion for choral conducting. After earning his BME from Wartburg in 1952, he got a master of arts from Colorado State College (now University of Northern Colorado) in 1954, and a doctorate in choral literature and composition from the University of Iowa in 1959.

The highlight of Jim’s college experience, though, was meeting and falling in love with Barbara (Wuest) Fritschel, another music major at Wartburg. They married in May of 1953.

Jim served two years in the 10th Infantry Division Band in Fort Riley, Kansas. There, he also played upright bass in a jazz combo at the officers’ club, and he began to compose and arrange for the group. Following his Army term, Jim and Barb spent a brief time in Greeley, Colorado, where Jim continued his music studies and worked as a handyman at Bonell Old Folks’ Home in exchange for the couple’s housing. Jim next taught high school choral and instrumental music in Gillette, Wyoming (son Scott was born there), followed by a high school choral music position in Scottsbluff, Nebraska (daughter Christine was born there).

In 1959 Jim returned to Wartburg College as a music instructor and conductor of the Castle Singers. When Professor Liemohn retired in 1968, Jim took over as conductor of the Wartburg Choir. He remained in that position until 1983, when he and Barb moved to Thousand Oaks, California, where Jim directed the California Lutheran College choir until his retirement in 1992.

Jim’s compositions have been widely performed by choirs all over the world. He is perhaps best known for the choral compositions “In Peace and Joy,” “Qui Sedes,” “In Thy Hand,” and some of his choral arrangements of traditional Christmas carols. His choral works have been the subject of at least two doctoral dissertations. He was commissioned to write works for high school, community, college-university, and professional groups over the years. His works have twice won composition competitions, and choirs under his direction have sung for regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. Both the Wartburg Choir and California Lutheran Choir toured extensively in the United States and Europe, and in 1980, the Wartburg Choir won the International Trophy at the Cork (Ireland) International Choir Festival.

Jim was a surprisingly accomplished cook for a man of his generation. His family especially treasured his potato pancakes. Jim had a passion for all things Wartburg, particularly the Wartburg choir and Wartburg football. He would not hesitate to tell a stranger about how special Wartburg College was to him.

Jim was preceded in death by his brothers, Fritz and Ted. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, of Pittsboro, North Carolina, son Scott (married to Betsy Porter Fritschel) of Pittsboro, North Carolina, daughter Christine Djalleta (married to Desalegn Djalleta) of Locust Grove, Virginia, five grandchildren (Lauren Ramsey (married to Christine Ramsey), Carl (married to Audrey Gebhardt Fritschel), Julia, Hannah D’Angelo (married to Josh D’Angelo), and Marta Djalleta), and five great grandchildren (Scarlett and Nolan Ramsey, Otto Fritschel, and Jordan and Zeke D’Angelo).

Memorial service plans will be announced in the future.