Owen F. Sellers

From his initial hiring, at the age of 25, in the Fall of 1931 by the Florida State College for Women (FSCW) to his retirement in the Spring of 1973 from the Florida State University (FSU), Owen Sellers played a variety of roles in the education of young musicians who came to study in Tallahassee, Florida. As a cellist, Sellers had enjoyed a modest career playing and teaching primarily in his home state of Ohio. He was hired at FSCW to teach cello and music theory. Within his first 10 years as a faculty member, he finished a bachelor’s degree he had started at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory and completed a master’s degree at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music. In that first decade of employment, he was also given his first administrative tasks by Dean Ella Scoble Opperman. By the time Sellers retired, he was one of two assistant deans (focused on academic affairs, recruiting, & advising), and had developed a reputation in the region as a cellist specializing in orchestral and chamber music. He served under three deans, taught numerous music students (cello, music theory, & chamber music literature), started the first band at FSCW, and worked to develop a variety of graduate programs in music. Sellers also developed a professional relationship with cellist Pablo Casals that lasted more than 20 years. His hobbies included travel and aviation; he became a licensed pilot as well as a flight instructor for the United States Army. Many students remember him as a quiet, polite man who also had a sense of humor and a way of making people feel comfortable around him. Unlike some of the more colorful characters who have taught music at FSU over the years, stories about Owen Sellers seem to have primarily two themes. He was a well-respected musician, and a nice human being. The purpose of this paper is to document the life and career of a man who made important contributions to the development of a major school of music over 4 decades, was recognized for his service and accomplishments by having the college amphitheater named in his honor upon his death, but whose deeds are largely lost to history.