Charlie, an eminent organist and professor emeritus of music at Yale, died April 30, 2020, of COVID-19 in Beverly, Mass. A colleague noted: “He leaves behind generations of students who still sing his praises today.” 

Coming from East Orange (N.J.) High School, at Princeton he was president of the Chapel Choir, was in the Naval ROTC program, and belonged to Court. He graduated with high honors in music and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He continued his musical studies at the Graduate College, earning an MFA in 1952. 

Following graduate school he joined the Navy Air Force, serving three years stateside and abroad as an intelligence officer and a fleet wing staff officer. With a Fulbright Scholarship, he then studied organ in Germany for two years. 

In 1958 he joined the faculty of Yale’s School of Music. He became the university’s fifth organist in 1965, retiring in 1995. To honor his legacy of teaching, performing and recording, a Baroque-style organ was dedicated to him in Yale’s Marquand Chapel in 2007. 

An enthusiastic hiker, he was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Four Thousand Footers Club. His interest in other cultures led to travel to six continents. 

Charlie is survived by his children, Ruth, Mary, and John, and four grandchildren. 

Class Year: 
Undergraduate Class of 1950
,
Graduate Class of 1952