Thank you to all those who have contributed memories, stories, and tributes to Royce.
“Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy was Royce’s vision and I will always be grateful for the trust he had in me to be part of the team that brought it to reality.”
– Anton Armstrong
“Royce changed my life. OBF was guided by his kind, thoughtful, fair, and caring leadership. He always treated the staff and their families with the utmost respect and regard. He humbly deflected attention and praise directed toward him, insisting that everyone contributed to the success of the festival. Royce touched more lives than anyone can possibly imagine.”
– Marla Lowen
“I’ll never forget standing on the steps of Beall Concert Hall before an OBF concert in 2018, chatting with Royce. A random person – maybe in their 20s – ran up to us and yelled ‘Oh my gosh! Are you Dr. Saltzman?? You’re my hero! I started singing because of you!’ Royce, who certainly didn’t know this enthusiastic fan personally, spent the next 10 minutes conversing with them about the choral world and everything it can offer a person. Royce treated this random stranger like a student he had been mentoring for years. I already knew Royce was a good guy and a giant in the choral field, but this was the first time it really struck me how impactful his career was to generations of musicians – many of whom only knew Royce by name and legacy.”
– Josh Gren
“Certainly a time of sympathy for the Saltzman family and a day to reflect and remember. I can’t even begin to comprehend the glorious influence and impact Royce’s life has had on our community and the world of music. How blessed we have been to experience it so personally with his friendship, leadership, encouragement, and passion for a musical legacy that will survive the ages. Truly a life to celebrate!!!!”
– Robin Burk
“As Publicity Director for the UO School of Music and Dance for 23 years, I also served as a seasonal staff member for OBF. It was such a joy and privilege to work with Royce, Helmuth, and the incredible musicians from all over the world for those Oregon Bach Festivals.”
– Scott Barkhurst
“It has been a wonderful privilege to know Royce, who contributed so much to the Oregon Bach Festival and to choral music in Eugene and beyond. Through his work with Helmuth Rilling and many other wonderful colleagues, Royce was a strong factor in our growing appreciation of the relevance of Christianity and the Gospel in our own time and place. Thank you, Royce! We will miss you deeply.”
– Jane Huyer
“I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the impact of Royce Saltzman on my musicianship and my life. The friends I have made and the experience of making music together with the artists he brought together have helped shape me and my teaching. I am honored to have met him and to have been a part of his legacy. May his memory be a blessing always.”
– Michael Ake
“When I came to Eugene in 1970 from Boston where I had been lucky to enjoy live performance of Classical Music from fairly early childhood, I was amazed to find such high levels of Classical Music here and I soon learned of Royce’s key roll in the process. I never got a chance to develop a close friendship but we greeted each other whenever we were together. Eugene is lucky that many people shared their love of culture. Deep Regards.”
– Theodore W. Palmer
“As a PhD student in English at the UO in the early 1970s, and as a choral director in the Portland metro area for decades, I joined Royce’s magnificent Schola Cantorum which became the initial Bach Festival Choir for Helmuth Rilling. What a powerful duo! Many times during lunchtime I walked past Royce’s always-open office door and stopped to chat, while he ate his celery sticks–another thing I adopted from him. His influence was much more than music, although that alone was life-changing.”
– Ulrich H. Hardt
“Royce was a choral music TITAN, not only here in Oregon, but also nationally and internationally! His accomplishments helped to put choral music at the UO on the map. Royce and I came to the UO the same year(1964). Myself as a freshman and Royce as faculty. He was my choral conductor that first year. When he started what would become the Oregon Bach Festival that very first year I was privileged to take part. Throughout my own career I was able to go to Royce for assistance in my classroom as well as a bottomless well of consultation and advice. He was a wonderful educator and human being. I was so fortunate to have known Royce for almost 60 years. I will miss him dearly. My most sincere condolences to the Saltzman family.”
– Jim Steinberger
“My condolences to Phyllis and the family on the passing of a great man. Royce and Phyllis welcomed Tom and me into their home for over 20 years, and those years of friendship are precious to me. His legacy with OBF will endure for ages. Thank you for all you brought to so many for so many years.”
– Virginia Somerville
“I have had the privilege of meeting Royce often at choral gatherings. I remember him as a very competent and friendly person. On behalf of the Choral Federation A Coeur Joie Wallonie-Bruxelles, I offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends.”
– Noël MINET
Our farewell to our great friend Royce Saltzman (1928-2023): The Schola Cantorum of Venezuela family sadly bids farewell to Royce Saltzman, dear friend and choral conductor. His life resume is full of recognitions and awards for his disciplined and continuous work in favor of choral singing and for his human qualities that made him a people person able to work successfully with many different teams. He was co-founder and executive director of the prestigious Oregon Bach Festival, President of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) (1979-1981), founding member and President of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) (1985-1993). He was always a visionary, enthusiastic and generous leader, a tireless worker who promoted spaces for international exchange and cooperation since he organized in 1981 a Choral Summit within the framework of the ACDA National Convention in New Orleans, where choral conductors from 13 countries lay the foundations of an international organization. That meeting ended with everyone singing the wonderful canon Dona Nobis Pacem. In 1982 IFCM was born in Namur, Belgium. From that moment Royce Saltzman became a very good friend and colleague of our founding director Alberto Grau, María Guinand and the Schola Cantorum. At Oregon Bach Festival, the Schola wrote beautiful pages as a guest choir in 1996, in 2004 and as a resident choir in 2011. Undoubtedly the main legacy of this wonderful man’s life is his unwavering faith in the transformative power of choral singing and its possibilities to achieve peace and understanding among men. To our Schola family, Royce Saltzman was a friend who always recognized our work, encouraged us to continue and expand it, and impelled us to reach new heights. We convey our feelings of solidarity and affection to his wife Phyllis, to his daughters Lisa, Jody and Marta and especially to Kathy, heiress to his musical legacy and also a great friend of the Schola.
– Maria Guinand and Fundación Schola Cantorum de Venezuela
Just remembering a fine man and choral teacher, as well as a visionary musical collaborator across many genres and boundaries . Royce was my college choral director for a few years in the 70s. I loved the music we all made together and I also sang in early Bach festivals. What a privilege to be involved in this music making. Royce Saltzman is a giant who gave Eugene and the whole musical world a lasting legacy of excellent music and international collaboration. His vision played a big part in bringing us transcendent moments of universal harmony and peace on earth.
– Cynthia Clague
Many wonderful memories as a student of and Graduate Assistant to Royce. One of my favorite moments: Four of us doctoral students formed the U of O Barbershop Quartet to represent the U of O at various functions. I modestly admit that we were very entertaining. All four of us were in the U of O University Singers when the group toured Central America in 1973. The Barbershop Quartet was eager to sing, but Royce wouldn’t permit it. One evening the full chorus sang at a big reception at the US Embassy in Costa Rica. After the chorus sang, a small voice behind Royce said, “I hear you have a barbershop quartet.” So the quartet got to sing since the small voice belonged to the president of Costa Rica. RIP.
– Steve Bruce
From that very first season of picfest, the standard of artistic excellence and personal integrity with which Royce led OBF set a high bar for us. He was a patient mentor, answering basic questions about festival-craft, welcoming collaborations, and providing visibility to picfest performances. We were keenly aware that we had been given an incredible gift and an awesome responsibility to honor the trust Royce had bestowed on our nascent enterprise. It is a poignant intersection for picfest that Royce’s passing occurred this year as we celebrate our final season. Whatever successes picfest realized in its 26 years, there is no question that we stood on the shoulders of this brilliant visionary; a kind person whose legacy is the same for countless musicians and organizations around the world.
– Peter Robb
I fondly remember Royce. We got to know each other by many associations: commencement, Bach Festival, and committee work. He was a wonderful, gentle person.
– Frank Geltner