Peaceful Retirement

Even though Michael Braz retired after 24 years as a music professor at Georgia Southern, the term “retirement” really wasn’t an option. As soon as Braz stepped off campus, he packed his bags and headed to Armenia.

This summer, Braz embarked on a new career outside the world of music with a two-year commitment to teach English as a second language with the Peace Corps. “I’m very appreciative of my bond with Georgia Southern,” said the Miami, Fla., native, who has influenced hundreds of students around the world, “but now I’m moving on to another pursuit.”

A worldwide traveler, Braz’ desire to return abroad perhaps stems from his extensive trips spent teaching students in England, Nepal and China. “My goal is to walk into any classroom anywhere in the world and teach students of any age,” he said. His students have ranged from kindergartners in China to a 91-year-old who drops by his home in Statesboro for weekly piano lessons.

Braz’ unmistakable passion for music and goodwill within the community often found him entertaining audiences at Rotary and Kiwanis club meetings, receptions, or even serving as a volunteer piano teacher at Joseph’s Home for Boys. “I’ve always found myself with one foot on campus and one in the community,” he said, revealing that music is his communication tool. On campus, Braz was a popular professor who creatively showcased a variety of musical styles. One specific example is his Mickey Mouse Club variations, in which he played the theme song in the styles of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and other composers. For more than a decade, students walking to classes along the Pedestrium were entertained by a variety of tunes ranging from classical music to The Beatles as he played the carillon atop the Zach S. Henderson Library.

“I’ve always been interested in music education,” said Braz, who began his lengthy music career when he began taking piano lessons at the age of 10, and later was the member of a three-man team that spent two years building a harpsichord.

Through the years, he collaborated with numerous orchestras, music festivals and ensembles ranging from chamber music to jazz and rock around the world, and is also an accomplished composer. Braz also wrote two operas – “Memoirs From the Holocaust,” inspired from a visit to the Dachau concentration camp and “A Scholar Under Siege,” about former Georgia Southern President Marvin Pittman.

During his many years as a music educator, Braz served as associate director of the Miami Choral Society, the conductor/musical director of the Boy Singers of Maine, and was the founder/director of Tallahassee ‘s Capital Children’s Chorus. Locally, he founded the Statesboro Youth Chorale and served as the president of the Statesboro Arts Council.

The community that Braz loves so much recognized him for his extraordinary contributions as the first living recipient of the Averitt Center’s “Legend in the Arts” award, and Georgia Southern established the Michael Braz Music Scholarship Fund in his honor.

Through the years, he also received several other honors including the University’s President’s Medal, the Faculty Award for Excellence in Service, the Ruffin Cup faculty award from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and was named the Deen Day Smith Humanitarian of the Year by the Statesboro Herald.

While Braz said a temporary farewell to Statesboro, he paused to reflect about the impact of music on his life and his future experiences in Armenia. “I spent the first part of my life learning how people are different, but now I find that I will continue to spend the next part of my life discovering how people are similar,” he said. Braz says that one thing is certain. “Even while I am gone, I will have Georgia on my mind.”