IN MEMORIAM: PROFESSOR EMERITUS ROBERT GLASGOW (1925 -2008)

September 2008

Elizabeth Goolian

Robert Glasgow, longtime organ faculty member at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, died at Glacier Hills Retirement Community on September 10, 2008.

Much beloved by his students, Glasgow was celebrated in 2000 on the occasion of his 75th birthday with an alumni organ recital and banquet, organized by former students and held at Hill Auditorium. A book of letters from his students and admirers was collected and presented to him at the gala dinner. Said one student on the occasion, “His artistic sensibilities, his cunning intellect, and unbridled imagination have unlocked doors for us that few other teachers have been able to do.”

Glasgow, who retired from teaching in 2005, joined the faculty of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance in 1962, having taught at MacMurry College in Illinois for eleven years after graduating with distinction from the Eastman School where he earned a bachelor’s, master’s and performer’s certificate. MacMurray College named him an honorary doctor of music and his Michigan colleagues honored him with the Harold Haugh Award for excellence in the teaching studio.

Glasgow had an illustrious performing career, in the U.S., Canada, and abroad, named international performer of the year by the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and selected as the featured recitalist at the Mormon Tabernacle after a major renovation of that historic organ. The consummate teacher, he was sought after to present master classes and workshops and was a regular performer, lecturer, and clinician at national and regional conventions of the AGO. A scholarship created in his honor, spearheaded by a former student on the occasion of Glasgow’s 40th year of teaching, the Robert Glasgow Endowed Scholarship, has supported students of the organ since its establishment in 1988, most of the contributions coming from former students.

A memorial service is planned for Friday, September 19, in the afternoon, at First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor (details still to be finalized; check http://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/ for more information in coming days). A more public expression in memory of Professor Glasgow is planned for Hill Auditorium but has not been finalized.