Memorial planned for UO alumnus Philip Frohnmayer

Philip Frohnmayer, a University of Oregon alumnus and brother of former UO President Dave Frohnmayer, died Sept. 27 from complications of peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the abdomen. He was 66.

Philip Frohnmayer, who joined the music faculty at Loyola University in New Orleans in 1982, taught as a visiting professor of music at the UO in 2005 during the Hurricane Katrina evacuation. His wife, Ellen, is also on the Loyola faculty and also served as a visiting professor at the UO during the 2005 evacuation.

He was an internationally-known vocal performer, an award-winning teacher and a writer, lecturer and essayist. He was a graduate of Harvard University, the University of Oregon and the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik.

While in Europe he met and married Ellen Phillips, and together they sang recitals and opera in the Republic of Georgia, France, Latin America and throughout the U.S. He was a regular soloist for many years with the Louisiana Philharmonic and the New Orleans Opera.

Frohnmayer joined the Loyola faculty in 1982 as chair of vocal studies, and later was awarded the Dux Academicus for excellence in teaching. He previously taught at Humboldt State University and University of Utah.

He was recognized in 2012 as Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance – an award previously won by his sister and his mother, MarAbel Frohnmayer.

Philip Frohnmayer is survived by his wife; their daughter, Anne Marie Frohnmayer; his sister, Mira Frohnmayer; and his brothers, Dave and John Frohnmayer.

He helped establish the Frohnmayer Legacy Fund at Loyola University in 2011. In his memory, Frohnmayer's family suggests gifts to the fund, which supports the university's vocal department.

A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans.

- from the UO Office of Strategic Communications