Philip Frohnmayer, professor of voice and coordinator of vocal activities in the School of Music, died last Friday at the age of 66.

Frohnmayer had been with Loyola University New Orleans since 1982. He was the Mary Freeman Wisdom Distinguished Professor of Opera, and in 1996 he received the Dux Academicus Award from Loyola for excellence in teaching, research and community service.

Frohnmayer is a native of Medford, Oregon and a graduate of Harvard University, University of Oregon and the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik. He won the top prize for voice in the 1976 Munich International Competition, and had a career of singing leading roles in Mozart and Verdi operas in Germany, Luxembourg and Holland.

Donald Boomgaarden, dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts, described Frohnmayer as a remarkable man who shared his gifts with everyone.

“Professor Frohnmayer was a genius – there are very few of them in the world. When they die, the entire world loses something precious,” Boomgaarden said in an email.

Frohnmayer is survived by his wife, Ellen Frohnmayer, associate professor of Voice at Loyola, as well as his daughter Anne Marie Frohnmayer.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church on Jackson Avenue.

Karl Gommel can be reached at [email protected]