When Tom Wine heard of an opening for Wichita State University in 1995, one of his first steps involved convincing his wife. Thirty years later, he had to convince his wife again when deciding to retire. 

“I think probably the hardest part was convincing my wife that it’s okay for me to retire,” Wine said. “Because I still love the kids, I love making music, I still feel connected to the school, but I want to go. 

“I want to travel, want to spend time with my grandkids.” 

Wine, a music education professor and director of WU Choir and Shocker Choir, is nearing his 30th year teaching at WSU. 

“When I first came to Wichita State, everything I was teaching was in music education,” he said. “I was not … directing any choirs, which is now half of my load. So my job here changed, and I think that’s part of why I stayed.”

Wine has taught in several states, starting in South Carolina, where he was a choir director and teacher at Spartanburg High School for nine years. 

“I tell my WSU kids, professionally, the hardest decision I ever made was to leave (Spartanburg),” Wine said. “… I loved those kids. I felt like I’d connected with the community, but in my heart, what I wanted to do was teach teachers, and so that’s what led me to go get another degree.”

Wine studied at Florida State University before teaching at the University of Alabama for a year-long interim position. After that, he heard of an opening at WSU.

“I had to convince my wife to go to Wichita,” Wine said. “It’s a long way from the East Coast, (but) we’re Midwesterners; we didn’t know it ’till we got here.” 

Teaching teachers 

With nearly 30 years at Wichita State, Wine has cultivated and witnessed many students come and go under his instruction and leadership.

Elaine Bernstorf, a music education professor, was on the committee that hired Wine all those years ago. Bernstorf said Wine approaches education with his own, non-imposing technique.

“I don’t think he’s tried to just clone himself,” Bernstorf said. “I think his approach has always been to help them to become the choral director or musician that is their style … He has encouraged students to find their passion as musicians and conductors and then develop that as they go on and create their own programs.”

Bernstorf said Wine establishes a connection almost immediately with his students.

“He is very supportive of our music ed majors and really cares about them and their careers and tries to help them as they start going out in the world and teaching,” Bernstorf said. 

Meghan Schrag, a sophomore music education major, is part of Wu Choir, which Wine teaches. Through these interactions with Wine, Schrag said she noticed — and will remember — how much “he cared about making us care.”

“He wanted to make sure that we knew how important choir could be to yourself and to the people around you,” Schrag said. “He made sure that everybody knew everybody else’s names, and he always programmed pieces that he knew we could feel very strong for if we were vulnerable enough.” 

Internationally known opera singer Alan Held came to teach at his alma mater in 2014, a transition he said was made easier by Wine. 

“When I came back, I knew some things were going to be different from my time period when I was a student here, but I knew that Dr. Wine was here as well,” Held, professor of voice and director of opera at WSU, said. “So I had somebody I knew when I walked in the door, and that means a lot.”

While Wine can be on the quieter and introverted side, according to Bernstorf, “he’s good on stage.”

“So if there’s ever a situation where he needs to do a little acting, he’s good at that and seems to enjoy that,” she said.

Held said this shows by how Wine conducts himself around students.

“He always has so much fun with them, you know, he puts on goofy costumes,” Held said. “He always has fun with it, so, you know, that’s really important.”

Bernstorf said this more playful side comes out in smaller ways.

“He has interesting socks and interesting ties,” Bernstorf said. “A lot of times, we kind of keep an eye out to see what tie he’s going to wear, depending on (the) time of year and events that are happening.”

What comes next

Wine’s retirement is threefold: his role as a professor and choral director at Wichita State, as well as the director of Chancel Choir at Eastminster Presbyterian Church. 

“I’ve had a church job for 40 years at different churches, and they expect you to be there every Wednesday and every Sunday,” Wine said. 

“That was another hard decision, was, ‘Would I retire from Wichita State and keep the church job?’” Wine said. “Because that was kind of my identity, too, when you’ve been doing that for so long.”

Ultimately, Wine decided to go all in with plans for retirement. And he already has plans ahead.

“When I turn in my keys, we’re going to Lake Tahoe for a week — just to get away,” he said. “… I just feel like I need to get out of town and say, ‘I’m away from Wichita State.’”

After that, he’s going to work on his “golf game” and go on a cruise in the fall.

“How cool will that be? To say, ‘It’s September. I’m leaving town.’”

Aside from traveling and “finding some adventures,” Wine also looks forward to spending time with his grandchildren, who call him “dude.” 

But with his career as an educator and choral director coming to an end, he said he’ll particularly miss the daily music-making.

“People ask, ‘What are your favorite memories?’ And almost all of (mine) are around making music,” he said.

Wine said he’ll likely find a place to sing during retirement.

But for right now, he’s not too worried about specifics. 

As he said, “I keep telling folks, I’ll find a way.”