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Born: 1918 - San Francisco, California, USA
Died: January 6, 2016 - Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
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The American tenor, Robert Edward Yeager, was born to Robert E. Yeager Sr. and Florence Pape. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area he developed a love of classical music listening to the orchestras organized by the WPA during the 1930's. Pursuing vocal music as a career, he auditioned for and received a scholarship to study voice at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1940. His studies were put on hold during World War II while he served in the Army Air Corps as an American-based mechanic and flight trainer operator. When he was discharged he returned to music studies, enrolling this time at Julliard School of Music in New York City. He met Gladys Brashear, also from San Francisco, in New York City during this time. The daughter of a violin teacher, Gladys shared his passion for music. They were married in Manhattan in 1948. He graduated Juilliard in voice in 1950.
Robert Yeager was a professional tenor and charter member of the Robert Shaw Chorale. In addition to participating in the numerous Robert Shaw Chorale recordings, he toured with the group throughout the USA and performed on the group's State Department tours of the USSR in 1962 and South America in 1964. He took part in all choral performances with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra during the Leonard Bernstein era.
At age 50, he embarked on a later-life second career, taking classes in early computer programming languages. He joined Metropolitan Life Insurance as one of the first wave of computer programmers they employed. He was relocated with his wife from New York to Greenville, South Carolina in 1977. In Greenville he retired from the company after 17 years. In 2001 they moved to Scottsdale, Arizona to be closer to family.
Robert Yeager died in Scottsdale,Arizona on January 6, 2016 at the age of 97. His family remembers him as an artist who loved music, ballet, golf and National League baseball in equal measures. He was predeceased by his wife (2008) and survived by their children Chris, David, and Karen, grandson Carlos, and younger brother Douglas. |
