Dr. Karen Fosheim Memorial

The friends and family of Dr. Karen Fosheim along with Delta State University mourn her untimely passing on June 16, 2022.

Dr. Fosheim was the Chair of the Music Department at Delta State University. She taught Piano, Music Theory courses, Music in American Culture, and was co-director of the Community Drumming Ensemble at DSU.  As an active performer, Karen had appeared as a soloist and collaborative pianist around the U.S. and in Mexico. In the summer of 2001, she was selected as a performer in the Van Cliburn Institute. She held degrees from The University of Arizona and Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Dr. Fosheim had traveled to Guinea, West Africa on two occasions to study djembe, balafon, and African dance with native master musicians. She studied djembe with master drummers in the US and participated in numerous African ensembles and institutes. Karen was active in several organizations and a past President of the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society. In addition, she had been a presenter and adjudicator for the College Music Society, Mississippi Music Teachers Association, Mississippi Music Educators Association, MENC: National Association for Music Education, and the Pianist Foundation of America.

To honor the memory of Dr. Karen Fosheim with a donation to the DSU Department of Music PIANO fund in support of Karen’s dream of DSU becoming a Steinway School of Music, please use the donation form below.