Music publisher Donald Hinshaw died on December 30, 1996 at the age of 62. He founded Hinshaw Music in 1975, specializing in choral and sacred music. The firm also publishes textbooks and instructional videotapes related to choral music. Hinshaw began his musical career at age nine when he was appointed pianist at Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church in Boonville, NC. He earned a bachelor's degree in music education in 1955 from Davidson College, and a degree in church music in 1958 from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as minister of music at First Baptist Church in Wilson, NC; choral music editor at Carl Fischer Publishing Company in New York City for eight years; and left to found Hinshaw Music in Chapel Hill, NC, in 1975. The first year he published just 35 titles by composers such as Alice Parker, Natalie Sleeth, and others. The catalog now runs to 73 pages.
