Robert E. GROOTERS

GROOTERS, HOOPES

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/3/2008 at 10:16:49

R. GROOTERS, CHOIR DIRECTOR, BELOVED TEMPLE VOICE TEACHER

Robert E. Grooters, 80, a singer, choir director and, for more than 40 years, a much loved professor at Temple University, died of prostate cancer on Thursday at his home in Swarthmore. Mr. Grooters' effect on students could be profound, and not only because of an extraordinary ability to help singers develop their voices and correct mistakes. One of his most successful Temple pupils, Hugh Panaro, who sang the romantic lead of Marius in a national company's production of Les Miserables, once said that Mr. Grooters was "the greatest guy," as good for the soul as for the vocal cords.

Always trim, healthy-looking and upbeat, Mr. Grooters was described as a "Scotsman with a lilt in his personality" by Jeffrey Cornelius, dean of the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple. "He was one of those people who, by coming into a room, illuminate it. He was a beloved personality and had a tremendous impact on our school," Cornelius said.

Mr. Grooters, a tall, slender Bing Crosby look-alike when younger, was a dedicated and successful teacher. He joined the staff at Temple in 1951, teaching voice and, in particular, diction. He always insisted that singers pronounce words clearly enough to be understood in whatever language they were singing. Forced to retire in 1981 at age 67, he immediately rejoined the staff on a part-time basis and continued to teach there until the 1994 spring semester.

"And they would have had him longer if I hadn't insisted it was time to retire at age 80," said his wife, Ruth Boylan Grooters. Cornelius, who went to Mr. Grooters for vocal coaching, said he found the professor "to have profound insights into how to teach people to sing." "He was a very encouraging teacher," Cornelius said. "He knew precisely what was needed to get the desired effect. He knew how to evoke from singers the qualities that made the voice sound as it should."

Mr. Grooters grew up around Vincent, Iowa, where he was born, and arrived in Philadelphia in 1937 with a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music. A bass-baritone, he studied voice and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1941. For many years, he was a choir member and soloist at First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, a prominent musical church whose choir performed an oratorio 32 Sundays a year. Between 1970 and 1980, he conducted the choir at Second Baptist Church in Wilmington, where his wife was the organist. Most recently, he was music director and choir conductor at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. As much as he loved music, it was not his only joy in life. A woodworker, he installed an extensive workshop in his basement where he crafted fine furniture - everything from a china cabinet to lamps - usually out of walnut.

"He really appreciated fine wood," said his daughter, Roberta Hoopes. His expertise didn't end with woodworking. The family bought a plot in the Poconos. Mr. Grooters had the contractor build just a shell of a house. When that was done, he took over and did all the interior work, including the plumbing and electrical work. He acknowledged that buying the tools he needed may have been as expensive as having the work done by others. But he said: "If I buy the tool, I have the tool, and I have the knowledge," his daughter recalled. An elder in the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Grooters was a man of deep religious convictions, Cornelius said. In recent years, he combined those feelings with his love of music as a member of the committee that chose the music for the hymnal published by the Presbyterian Church in 1971.

And on his 80th birthday, when more than 100 friends and family members gathered at his home for a party, he led them all in an impromptu concert that featured some of his favorite music: "He Watching Over Israel" from Mendelssohn's Elijah and "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place" from Brahms' Requiem. It was very familiar music. During a singing career that continued into the 1980s, he sang the lead role in Elijah so often that one of his colleagues called him "Lije."

Besides his wife and daughter, he is survived by sons, David and John; two sisters; two brothers; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

His body was donated to the Humanity Gifts Registry. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. April 8 at the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, Harvard Avenue, Swarthmore. Contributions may be made to the National Association of Teachers of Singing Foundation, 3352 Flowerdale Rd., Springfield, Ohio 45504, or the Esther Boyer College of Music Scholarship Fund, Temple University, 13th and Norris Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122.

March 25, 1995
Copyright - The Philadelphia Inquirer