Abel Chavez considers himself 鈥渁 disciple for paying it forward.鈥澨�
From a life-changing visit to his Los Alamos, New Mexico high school by fellow trumpeter Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show 鈥� to meeting his future wife as students at CU 麻豆影院 鈥� to John Davis mentoring Chavez鈥檚 son, Armando, on the jazz saxophone long before Davis would go on to become Dean of the CU 麻豆影院 College of Music鈥擟havez has much to be thankful for over a lifetime that鈥檚 been equal parts blessings and tragedy.
鈥淥ne moment your life can be turned upside down and inside out,鈥� says the retired longtime telecommunications government affairs director from Pueblo. 鈥淏ut music is such an important part of our well-being. It can be a therapy for a woman who is experiencing postpartum depression. It can be a therapy for people struggling with Alzheimer's and dementia. It was and still is therapeutic for me.鈥�
Chavez鈥檚 heart is so full from the joy of music, family, faith and philanthropy, you might never know how often it has been broken. Chavez lost his wife, College of Music alumna Rebecca Beardmore Chavez, in a 1996 auto collision. Their daughter, Briana Lee Rees, passed away unexpectedly in 2018.
鈥淏ut I was able to bounce back,鈥� Chavez says, 鈥渂y using music and philanthropy as a way of healing.鈥澨�
Chavez established a music scholarship endowment to honor Rebecca in 1996 and made another major contribution in 2018 to pay tribute to Briana. The Rebecca Beardmore Chavez/Briana Lee Rees Music Education Scholarship Endowment has benefitted 80 students to date and is currently valued at more than $110,000.听
And in November, Chavez created a new $25,000 endowed fund to foster Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts through the College of Music鈥檚 American Music Research Center (AMRC). AMRC Director Susan Thomas calls Chavez鈥檚 support for the AMRC鈥檚 DEI efforts 鈥渋nspirational.鈥�
Chavez鈥檚 resume is long and impressive: More than 40 years at CenturyLink and all its telecom predecessors. First Hispanic chairman of the board of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. Chairman of the board of the Parkview Medical Center. Board member of the United Way of Pueblo, Pikes Peak United Way, Pueblo Symphony and many more.
He joined the College of Music鈥檚 advisory board in the 1990s with the goal of improving facilities. Now that the $57 million addition to the Imig Music Building has placed CU 麻豆影院 among the top public music programs in the nation, Chavez鈥攁s a member of the AMRC's advisory board鈥攈as turned his attention to opening more doors to Hispanic, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) student artists.
Chavez has known for all his life what it鈥檚 like to be part of an underrepresented community. Even though Pueblo is 51 percent Hispanic, 鈥渨e still have issues around diversity, equity and inclusion,鈥澨齢e says.听
鈥淭he bottom line here is that we have a real opportunity to use the American Music Research Center as a uniting force to bring together people of different cultures, ethnicities, perspectives and walks of life. I see this work as not only educational, but as a strategy to improve the environment in which persons of color are pursuing their educations at CU 麻豆影院.鈥�
Chavez doesn鈥檛 look at giving of his time鈥攐r his money鈥攁s a moral responsibility. It鈥檚 in his DNA. 鈥淟ife is so precious,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think the best way we can show our kindness and caring for others is by helping them.鈥澨�
Learn more about DEI activities at the College of Music and consider .
