Irony lies in the fact that a man who made a huge impact often behind the scenes will be in the spotlight this weekend when Mill Race Theatre Company’s "Shrek: The Musical ” unfolds this weekend.
All four scheduled shows at Judson Erne Auditorium in Columbus will be dedicated to the memory and major arts impact of James Kevin Butler, who died early Monday morning at age 64. He passed away just three three days after being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and slightly more than two weeks after he sang at First United Methodist Church, where he served as music director.
He was scheduled Friday through Sunday to be a musical assistant to the theater production’s music director Janie Gordon, a lifelong friend, fellow Singing Hoosier at Indiana University, and frequent show castmate. They played the leads opposite each other in Mill Race’s "Gypsy: A Musical Fable" in 2007.
They also played opposite one another in IU’s production of "Oklahoma" in 1981.
"The choral world has lost one of the finest," Gordon said, adding that Butler had been mapping medical treatment plans last weekend.
She said Tuesday morning that she expects that a member of the local troupe — one that Butler was a part of growing up in Columbus — will speak about Butler before the curtain goes up before each of the shows.
The impact of Butler, a 1975 Columbus North High School graduate, was substantial; stretching from Columbus to across the nation as a choral contest judge. In 2016, after years of high school choral conducting, including three years at Columbus East High School, he earned the Fame Show Choir National Championship Series’ Aspire Lifetime Achievement Award. But, days later, the trophy was pretty tough to find in his office at the church, hidden by various decor.
A friend mentioned at the time that Butler need not grandly showcase his musical ability when he knew quite well who he is, as he was never one to boast.
For example, when Butler spoke a few years ago of a Sunday morning service that overflowed with 40 minutes of songs, from old-time gospel to spirituals, he gushed about a brass ensemble, a bell choir, an organist and more.
Not a word about his behind-the-scenes work as director of music to help it all come together.
“The nicest compliment I’ve ever gotten came from a teacher who came up to me once and said, ‘I bet you could turn garbage into music,’” Butler said.
He loved variety as much as the music itself. He trained choirs to sing everything from Cole Porter to Prince and from Broadway to modern country. In recent years, he mentored other, younger choral directors as well.
Plus, he wrote concert reviews for The Republic for several years, employing a creativity that often linked a performance with everyday culture.
After a Columbus Symphony Orchestra performance on Oscar night a few years ago, part of his opening read, "As Hollywood prepared to unveil its Oscar winners later that evening, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra welcomed several of its own nominees for outstanding musical performance in an afternoon of movie magic, operatic ovations and concert collaborations."
Yet, he was known for his humor almost as much for his musical excellence and creativity. He mentioned in a Republic interview in May that he regularly opened church staff meetings with a joke of some kind to lighten the mood.
“Humor is so very prevalent in our lives, and sometimes we tend to take the Bible so seriously that we don’t always realize that there probably were some funny things that happened along the way that actually would make the stories more human and more real,” Butler said.
Friends, former students and those in the arts and faith community flooded social media Sunday and Monday with heartfelt messages of praise for his teaching, his conducting, his own performances and his emotional support.
One former student recalled how Butler made arrangements for a student group to sing the national anthem several years ago at an Indiana Pacers’ NBA game — and Butler provided ample encouragement to make their performance a success.
He also made his mark by launching his church’s free, popular Fridays at First monthly music series that highlighted a broad mix of mainstream music. It included local groups and nationally touring acts such as Small Town City, comprised of two of his former choral students at Hamilton Southeastern High School. One, Ryan Ahlwardt, saluted Butler on Facebook.
"I wouldn’t be where I am today as a musician and performer without his guidance and encouragement," Ahlwardt wrote.
Butler also had been vocal coach and artistic director for more than five years of the local senior citizen musical drama troupe The Lasting Impressions. Troupe founder Donna Browne said she remembered Butler growing up and singing solos at First Christian Church. And she was pleased to see him blossom.
"Oh my lands," Browne said. "Kevin was just so creative and so talented."
Even greater than his gift was his character, Browne said, as he helped care for each of his aging parents here until they died.
Butler also had a heart for the struggling. He worked twice in recent years with former local organist John Simpson to organize a musical fundraiser (and perform himself, along with others) for the local Love Chapel food pantry at a time when it needed extra help.
"The people involved in this project are some of the most respected musicians in Columbus," Butler said before the first such event in 2018.
As his behind-the-scenes humility would have it, he conveniently forgot to include himself in that description.
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Funeral arrangements for Butler are pending at Barkes, Weaver & Glick Funeral Home.
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