School of Music honors late professor

The School of Music paid tribute to the late Walter Cassel, a singer and music professor for 20 years, Sunday in Auer Hall. Musicians from IU and Cassel's former students from across the country joined in remembering the legend. \nCassel was born in Iowa in 1910. Although he was best known as a musical actor, he was also a photographer and an award-winning athlete. \n"He also used to play the trumpet quite well," said former music dean Charles Webb, who played piano at the tribute. \nCassel came to New York in 1935 and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1943. He sang in 275 performances for the Metropolitan Opera and 126 performances for the New York City Opera, giving him a reputation for having remarkable vocal range and vocal stamina.\nCassel left New York for Europe and returned in 1955 because of his perfectionist ideals, Webb said. \n"He did this to train his voice and become a better singer," Webb said. \nIn 1974, he was offered a faculty position at the music school. He accepted it. Soon, he was a world-renowned vocalist and performed in cities such as Paris, Vienna and Barcelona. He was best known for his role as Horace Tabor in "The Ballad of Baby Doe," which he made famous at the New York City Opera. \nMusic professor James King said Cassel's sincerity, not just his talent, made him a memorable person.\n"He was one of the nicest colleagues I had the pleasure of meeting in the world of opera," King said. "He was a wonderful human being and a highly dedicated teacher." \nAfter taking his faculty position at IU, Cassel focused more on teaching and less on performance.\n"Walter became a very good friend to me during the long time that he was here," Webb said. "He was one of our most distinguished voice teachers and had students who went on to become world famous. He was also very active in operetta and Broadway musicals. He was famous for his brilliant, strong baritone roles," Webb said. \nHe retired from the faculty in 1993, but continued to give private lessons in Bloomington until his death in July 2000. \nSunday's tribute was largely comprised of his former students, Adam Klein said. \n"It is absolutely wonderful to be a part of this," said Klein, who performs all across the country, as his former teacher did. "He was a great musician and a great man. This means a lot to me"