Jim Ployhar, whose musical arrangements and compositions for band were performed around the globe, died Tuesday at his Fargo home.
By his own reckoning, the 80-year-old Ployhar published more than 800 works for school bands, including "The Flickertail March," North Dakota's official state march.
"His name is known throughout the world," said Orv Eidem, a longtime friend and colleague.
Eidem said Ployhar's decades-long career as an arranger and composer began when Ployhar was teaching at Fargo's Agassiz Junior High.
"He couldn't find what he thought was decent music for the kids to play, so he wrote it," said Eidem, who was band director at North Dakota State University for 23 years before retiring in 1993.
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In addition to being a teacher and composer, Ployhar was well-known locally as the director of a band that performed often at the Fargo Theatre, Eidem said.
Ployhar recently became the first person inducted into the Music Hall of Fame at Valley City Sate (N.D.) University - the school from which Ployhar graduated in 1949 when it was known as Valley City State Teachers College.
The school established an honor band festival in Ployhar's name four years ago, and Ployhar attended when he could.
He had to miss last year's event in October because he was undergoing treatment for acute leukemia, a subject he talked about in an interview this past fall.
"You don't beat that," he said of the illness. "You just put up with it."
Ployhar wrote for several music companies over the years, including the publishing arms of Paramount and Warner Bros.
He also flirted with Hollywood.
Along with a partner, Ployhar purchased the script for "Iron Will" and worked for years to get the story made into a film.
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The movie premiered in 1994, with Ployhar receiving co-producer credit.
After his illness was diagnosed, Ployhar began hearing from former students and others he met throughout his career in music.
"They've been really kind and writing me cards. It's been a fruitful existence," Ployhar said in the interview last fall.
A funeral service is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Olivet Lutheran Church in Fargo.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Friday at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
