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Scharmal Kay Schrock was born January 20, 1940, to Delmar and Emmaline (Studer) Schrock. She passed away July 25, 2020, in Manhattan, Kansas. Because Scharmal taught voice, theater and opera, she impacted a large number of students and colleagues.
Scharmal graduated from Kiowa (Kansas) High School in 1958. She started college at Kansas State University, graduated from the Cincinnati Conservatory, and completed her master's at Indiana University. Between degrees, she studied in Frankfort, Germany, as a Fulbright Scholar. Later, she also studied and performed in Vienna.
Scharmal's teaching career began at East Texas State (Commerce), then Ithaca College, Utah State (Logan), and 25 years at Southeastern Louisiana University (Hammond). She then returned to cap off her career at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (Bloomington). She taught voice at the University level for over 45 years, directed scores of stage productions, and judged thousands of auditions.
Scharmal loved people, and she had a genius for identifying and honing her students' talents and matching them to specific roles and numbers. She had a no-nonsense way of diagnosing and addressing problems, whether those problems related to voice, stage presence, dress or personal issues. Her students knew she believed in them, and that helped her coach them into achieving things they didn't know they could do.
Anyone who heard Scharmal's voice understood that she was an exceptional talent. She performed as soprano soloist with the Amarillo, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Ft. Worth, New Orleans, and Shreveport symphonies. She also soloed at Carnegie Hall in 1988.
Scharmal had an active, often irreverent, sense of humor. She was her own favorite source of amusement. She captivated listeners with stories of performance glitches, costume failures, fried electronics, elaborate ruses, towed cars, spooked cattle, and more. For those who knew and loved Scharmal, the first reaction to the mention of her name is to smile.
Scharmal was preceded in death by her parents.
She will be missed by her sister Sheryl Schrock (Krattigen, Switz), brother Mark (Judy) Schrock (Hazelton, Kansas), nephew Nathan Schrock (Manhattan, Kansas), niece Lara (Jason) Knudson (Hartsel, Colorado), grand-nieces and nephews Emmaline Schrock, Ben Schrock, David Knudson, and Judy Knudson, and a large number of cousins, students, friends, and colleagues.
Donations in memory of Scharmal may be made to: Scharmal Schrock Endowed Scholarship, Southeastern Foundation SLU 10293, Hammond, LA 70402 or IU Foundation , JSoM Vocal Dept., PO Box 6460. Indianapolis, IN 46206-6460.
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