Jody Nagel, 60, Full Professor Emeritus of music theory and composition at Ball State University, passed away unexpectedly on Feb 6th at home. Dr. Nagel was born in Franklin, PA, and attended North Allegheny High School in Wexford, PA. He received his B.A. from Marietta College in Ohio in 1982, his M.A. in music theory and composition from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985, and his Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992.

Dr. Nagel is survived by his wife, Eunhee Nagel; his children Ashley Nagel and Athena Nagel; his siblings, Joel Nagel, David Nagel, and Lorie LaSala; his mother, Lavina Hartman; and his cat Bubbles. He is predeceased by his father, Joseph Nagel.

Dr. Nagel joined BSU in 1992 and retired in 2019. He and his business partner Mark Schultz were co-editors of their music score publishing company, Jomar Press. He served as the area coordinator of the Theory and Composition Division at BSU from 2010-2015 and was an active member of the Society of Composers and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS).  His compositions have been performed in various American cities and also internationally in countries including Australia, Korea, Cyprus, Israel, Germany, and Russia, and more.

Jody ("Jodo") loved science fiction, especially Star Trek and anything written by Isaac Asimov. He exclusively used Apple computers, loved a big old steak and potato dinner, and passionately debated about politics and religion. Jody was ecstatic to see the Biden/Harris victory in 2020 and regretted not living to solve all of the world problems or being able to terraform Mars.

There will be an online memorial on Friday, Feb 12th. For more information please contact his daughter Ashley at [email protected] . Please honor his memory by donating to a charity of your choice in his name.

The family will receive online condolences at www.parsonmortuary.com