Bud Jones

JONES, Herbert Ingham (Bud), died peacefully with his family around him on 25 July 2024 aged 81. Beloved husband of Elizabeth, father of Vonnie and father-in-law of Anna, and Puppy B to Ella, Olly, Luke, Arlo and Louis. Dearly loved brother of Sherman and Ceph, brother-in-law of Rachel and Jim (d), and uncle of Sarah, Charlotte (d) and Louise. A private service has been held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bud’s name to Zealandia.

TRIBUTES

Bernard Shapiro

I remember Bud’s utterly dead pan humour well. It was in the early 1990s. During a rehearsal of Verdi’s Requiem, ‘Dies Irae’, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under Franz Paul Decker was going through the motions of this shattering movement.
Bud Jones, mallet in hand, sat quietly grinning behind a double bass drum… waiting… the repeat of the opening bars arrived, which features this drum, shall we say, prominently.
His swings, from his shoulder, started a yard behind him – and the colossal impacts destroyed the back rows of the NZSO.
A great yell of complaint went up from the entire rehearsal room, most notably the bassoon section, who absorbed the full force of his enthusiasm.
Decker pointed his perpetually angry baton at Bud and said “Can…. you play that softer.” It wasn’t a question.
“Sure!” said Bud.
“From the top”.
The fortissimo notes charged forth from the orchestra who went into “Brace For Bud” mode as the moment arrived…. to the sound of a triangle being passive-aggressively tinged.
Falling about laughing, the orchestra broke for lunch early.

Marc Taddei

I lost my best friend yesterday. A man whose joy of life and spirit of adventure was inspirational to me. His example stressed the importance of building things of beauty and permanence, the motivation to get out and experience our natural environment, and the centrality of legacy in life – what one leaves behind. Bud’s work in music education leaves behind generations of gifted musicians, inspired by his teaching who enrich our culture in a huge number of disciplines. His extraordinary work in conservation (much to the consternation of those ducks unfortunate enough to fly by) also speaks to legacy. But of course, it is the legacy of his family that is most important. My heart goes out to Liz, Vonnie, and the rest of the family at this sad time. It was a privilege to know Bud, and I treasure the memories of our time together.

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