As a long-time piano teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory
of Music, Tomoko has connected with many talented musicians. One of them that she
remembers fondly is baritone Hermann LeRoux.
Among other memories, Tomoko recalls his
connections with Japanese students and the Japanese consulate. “He was easy to
get along with because he was born outside the U.S.”
Hermann LeRoux was Dutch, born in Pretoria, South Africa in
1945. He studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, taught voice, and served
as the chair of the music department between 1991 and 1997. He performed
professionally, such as the baritone in Robert Moran’s work Holderlin, premiered at the Conservatory
in 1972. LeRoux also wrote compositions, including “Reflections from Childhood
in South Africa”, which he sang – and for which he helped produce as a CD in 1997
titled The Musician’s Gallery Concert.
LeRoux also directed the X-perimental Chorus, a 15-member music
theater group in the Bay Area. Along with performing choral pieces written by
composers from around the world, the group presented theater pieces and
electronic music. They used improvisation, special effects and costuming to
bring wit and humor.
LeRoux has a strong legacy in the form of his students’
success. Two of his students, Christine Abraham and Eun-Mee Ko, later joined
the Conservaatory’s voice faculty. Another one of his students, Diego Garcia, composes
music and oversees all musical expression at the Napa Valley Center for Spiritual
Living. George Hernandez, who studied under LeRoux in the late 1980s, has sung
with the San Francisco Opera since 1990, now teaches voice, conducts choruses,
and composes.
In 2003 The Conservatory honored him at his retirement celebration
in August 2007. He now lives in Grants Pass, Oregon.
