Professor David K. Barton was recently named the 20th recipient of the Lundquist Faculty Fellowship at Indiana University South Bend.

In addition to being a professor of music theory and composition, he is director of the IUSB Computer Music Studio and music area coordinator in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts.

“I am very flattered to receive this honor,” Barton said. The award is given by his peers who have high regards for his creativity, his teaching abilities and his service to the area and IU South Bend.

Growing up in a college town in western Massachusetts, Barton was drawn to learning and libraries. He said he knew as a child that he wanted to continue to be around books and education. Although he had an interest in music, glee club and piano, he started as a history major at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

He took a freshman seminar on the creative process – writing and drawing. This class opened new avenues for him. Later he talked his way into a music theory class. “I discovered there an outlet for the music that was generated in my mind 24 hours per day.”

Barton earned a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in music with an emphasis in composition from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He taught at U.C Santa Barbara and the College-Conservatory of Music - University of Cincinnati before coming to South Bend in 1976.

He received tenure here in 1984 and was recognized for his teaching skills and was honored by the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET) in 1992.

On campus, he has served on numerous groups, including various roles on the academic senate, nominating and strategic directions committees. He also served as the assistant dean for instruction for the Raclin School of the Arts from 1998 to 2003.

Barton's specialty as a composer is computer-assisted electronic music improvisation. Since 1988 he has been the coordinator of a performance ensemble, Plato and the Western Tradition, which performs regularly at IU South Bend and at computer music festivals. The group has recorded more than 1,300 improvisations.

He is involved in the Michiana Composers, he produces the annual Michiana Improvisational Music Festival and serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Elnora Hartman Stickley Scholarship Foundation.

The Lundquist Lecture was instituted in 1984 and named after Eldon Lundquist, one of Elkhart’s best known natives. He wore many hats – public relations, advertising, hospital development director, sportscaster and legislator. He was a member of the Indiana General Assembly from 1961 to 1976, where he served as the Senate Education Committee chairman for more than a decade.

In 1976, he was appointed assistant to the president of Indiana University with an office at IU South Bend. He served in that role until his death in 1977.

His friends established an endowment in his name to sponsor public lectures. In 1984, the Faculty Fellowship Program was established to support IU South Bend faculty members who demonstrate outstanding accomplishments in teaching, scholarship and research.

Barton’s lecture will be next spring.