Fred Richard Nibley (April 29, 1913 – September 22, 1979) was an American violinist, composer, and educator. He is often cited as an expert on the influence of music on behavior. Richard spent many years as a professor at

Snow College Snow College is a Public college, public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees along with bachelor's degrees in music, software engineering, and nursing. Snow College is part of the Utah System of High ...

Ephraim, Utah Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,611 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Sanpete County. It is the location of Snow College and is locat ...

. He lived in a pioneer home on Main Street in Ephraim that was originally built for Canute Peterson, an early Mormon leader in the area. His list of the top ten classical music pieces for your music library is still used today. Richard was born in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824, making it the List of cities in Oregon, eighth-most populo ...

, to Alexander Nibley and Agnes Sloan. His older brother was

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a prolif ...

, and his grandfather was Charles W. Nibley. Richard Nibley's great-grandfather

Alexander Neibaur Alexander Neibaur (January 8, 1808 – December 15, 1883) was the first dentist to practice in Utah and the first Jew to join the Latter Day Saint movement. He was educated for the profession at the University of Berlin and was a skilled dentist be ...

was the first Jew to join the LDS Church. He died in the fall of 1979 of

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

(commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

Quote

"Music creates atmosphere. Atmosphere creates environment. Environment influences behavior."Richard Nibley, ''Ensign'', December 1971, p. 53. Also cited at http://www.hymns.com/music.html

References

1913 births 1979 deaths American Latter Day Saints Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United States People from Medford, Oregon Snow College faculty People from Ephraim, Utah American people of Scottish descent 20th-century American musicians American people of English descent {{US-musician-stub