Addio, dear friend...

It’s always sad when you hear about the loss of a friend. When it’s a fellow musician, teacher, scholar, and part of the AVA family it’s much more deeply felt.

On Friday, May 9, 2008 the wonderful Wayne Conner passed after a brief illness. He was the instructor of Opera History and History of Singers at AVA, but he was much more than that. The resident artists and alums who took his classes were always enthralled by his tales of historical singers, and through that learned of the golden age of opera.

He will be missed by all of us this kind and gentle man. His wealth of knowledge imparted on decades of young singers hopefully helped them to understand the lineage of opera. He was also the voice of AVA on our WRTI broadcasts, and now that voice is silenced.

Please feel free to write your memories of Wayne in the comment box below. A celebration of life will be held at The Curtis Institute of Music on Wednesday June 4th at 4:30 pm.

Wayne Conner, a native of Dallas, Texas, received a business degree from Southern Methodist University and music degrees from The Peabody Conservatory and The Curtis Institute of Music. He studied voice with Richard Bonelli and Martial Singher and was coached by such famous artists as Elizabeth Westmoreland, Vladimir Sokoloff, Leo Rosenek, Ernest Ligo, and Tito Schipa. As a tenor soloist, he appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, The Philadelphia Chamber Society, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic, Philadelphia Oratorio Choir, Baltimore Bach Society, and the Marlboro Festival in Vermont. He was also heard frequently as an opera singer in performances with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company.

As a historian and lecturer, he is in constant demand. He was the creator and host of Singer's World, heard on National Public Radio for twenty-five years and was the host and producer of Collector's Corner and The Sunday Opera for WHYY 91 FM in Philadelphia. Mr. Conner is a former member of the voice faculty of Mannes College and a current faculty member of both The Peabody Conservatory and The Curtis Institute of Music. Opera lovers have heard his highly informative and enlightened lectures about the history of opera at The Academy of Vocal Arts, Johns Hopkins University, Washington Opera Society, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Friends of Curtis Institute, and The Opera Club of Philadelphia.

Comments

[Ailyn Perez]

I just heard the sad news that Mr. Conner passed away.

Stephen Costello, and I were grieved to hear this news.

Mr. Conner was our beloved teacher of our favorite AVA class, Singing History. He introduced us to many great singing artists of the past in these sessions, which have shaped and informed our artistry. We thank him for his contribution to us as a teacher and also for his encouragement to us over our four years of study at AVA. We will miss him greatly.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Love,
Stephen and Ailyn

[Scott Bullitt]

When I worked at Sam Goody Records at 1125 Chestnut Street in the early 1970's, Wayne was a frequent visitor to the store. It was always a pleasure to discuss various singers with him. What a fount of knowledge he was! If I had a question about a particular recording, he was never too busy to give his opinion, and he never steered me wrong. He was truly a gentleman tenor.