Longtime professor of music at Goshen College, Marvin Blickenstaff, died on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the age of 90. Blickenstaff taught at GC as a piano professor, among other roles, from 1978 to 1999 and continued working as an educator after his retirement. He wrote several books, as well as working as an editor for musical instruction materials.
One of Blickenstaff’s last performances was a show at Carnegie Hall. His final performance occurred at GC after hosting a pedagogical workshop. This was an intentional move from Blickenstaff, as he explained at the end of the concert that he wanted to play his last recital for the GC community.Blickenstaff taught many students during his tenure at GC, including instructing President Rebecca Stoltzfus in piano. In a blog post from 2025, Stoltzfus recalled her first experiences with Blickenstaff: “Marvin revealed to me what mastery of the piano sounded like and felt like.”
The time of his memorial service has not yet been announced to the public.
