A True Renaissance Man - Taught me the gift of the Segue

From the Penn Alumni Network
Bruce Eglinton Montgomery, one of America's leading authorities on Gilbert & Sullivan, died suddenly at his summer home on the coast of Maine on June 21st, 2008. The Chestnut Hill resident had celebrated his 81st birthday the previous day.
Mr. Montgomery, or "Monty" as he was known to many, hailed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he directed musical organizations, many of which were dedicated to Gilbert & Sullivan. He was a long-time member of the Orpheus Club, where he was also named an honorary member for his appearances as guest conductor. He was a true renaissance man: painter, poet, composer, lyricist, author, choral arranger and conductor. He also served on the boards of the Theodore H. Presser Foundation and the Edwin B. Garrigues Foundation. A colorful and vibrant man until the very end, he was beloved by the countless performers and audience members whose lives he touched over a long and distinguished career.
Montgomery served as director of the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club for 44 years (1956-2000), writing, directing, choreographing and conducting their shows on many tours around the world. He published a memoir in 2005 entitled Brothers, Sing On: My Half-Century Around The World With The Penn Glee Club published by University of Pennsylvania Press, relating many of his favorite stories from his tenure as director of the Glee Club, as well as reminiscences about his Gilbert and Sullivan activities. Montgomery served for many years as director and/or music director of Penn's Mask & Wig Club, the University Band, the Penn Players, and many other musical and theatrical groups at Penn before his retirement in 2000. In 1971 he helped to create the Penn Singers, a student light opera and musical theatre company, and continued to serve as their director until his death.
Montgomery was the Artistic Director of the Gilbert & Sullivan Players of Philadelphia – a group founded by his father, tenor James Montgomery – for over three decades after his father died in 1955. Under his guidance, the group produced over 65 productions. He directed and performed leading comedic roles in each of the 14 Gilbert and Sullivan operas. He then served as stage director for the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Chester County, PA from 1987 until 2007.
Montgomery's works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and many other performing groups. The music he wrote for Gilbert and Sullivan's Thespis in the 1950s, for which most of Sullivan's original score was lost, was produced on several occasions, including the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England in 2000.
After his 1963 Irish folk opera, Spindrift, was performed by the Penn Players, he wrote the music and lyrics for a hit 1964 off-Broadway show, The Amorous Flea, receiving rave reviews in the New York papers as "the greatest melodist since Jerome Kern and the greatest lyricist since Larry Hart." The show is still performed in regional theater around the globe.
In 2005 Montgomery received an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, Bethany College, in Lindsborg, Kansas. He was also named "Man of the Year" by the Friars Club of Philadelphia in 2006.
After this long and distinguished career Monty was honored by The University of Pennsylvania, where the studio theater at The Annenberg Center was renamed the "Bruce Montgomery Theatre." The newly renovated theater was unveiled at a gala celebration on May 10, 2008, marked by live performances of his original compositions. It was the crowning achievement in the life of an amazing and gifted man and was his last public appearance.
Montgomery was looking forward to directing a "Gilbert & Sullivan Entertainment" this autumn in honor of Charles Spencer, the Ninth Lord Spencer, brother to Princess Diana, at a benefit for Studio Incamminati.
Montgomery is survived by an older brother, James Montgomery, two younger sisters, Constance Cook and Elizabeth Thomas, ten nieces and nephews, ten great nieces and nephews, a great-great nephew and a great-great niece.
Burial will be private and a memorial Celebration of Life is planned for early Autumn in Philadelphia. A date will be announced on Monty's website, http://www.montyart.com .
In lieu of flowers Monty's family requests that contributions be made to: The Glee Club Endowment Fund #402396, c/o Platt Student Performing Arts House, 160 Stouffer Commons, 3702 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. (For further information, phone 215-898-2312). Known as the "150 x 150 Campaign," this fund was established to honor the Penn Glee Club's 150 years of continuous operation.

The Passing of a Friend - Monty will be missed

Things I wish I had said

In a recent sermon I quoted Dave Benson who had quoted Rob Bell,

"if you don't like diversity you are not going to like heaven." Then I went a step further and said "If you don't like diversity you are probably not going!" I got a letter from someone this week, with these words:

I've never considered myself racist, was "taught" to love everyone the same and have tons of black friends, but recently I found that my judgment of other" was put to the test. Well . . . in your blunt way one Sunday you said, "If you don't like diversity, you probably won't like heaven very much . . . in fact, if you don't like diversity, you may not MAKE it to heaven." Well, Phil . . . I have to tell you that was God speaking to me directly and after some time in deep prayer, I made and continue to make major changes in the way I see and love others . . . it was such a feeling of relief and a great step toward being more like Christ. I've shared that statement with others and hope that we can call take it to heart.

I had prayed and prayed that the church

I was serving would be more a reflection of the 

diverse community in which we live and those prayers are coming true. 

How did it happen? By the grace of God. 

By being intentionally inviting to everyone. 

Strangely this was one of the keys: 

By inviting Neighborhood Associations to meet at the church

in the sanctuary, welcoming those folks and inviting them to come back. 

I can trace the growth of our church in these subdivisions to the time of these first meetings. 

Some churches see this as a chance to charge for the use of the building, 

my prayer is that is will be seen as an opportunity to reach the community for Christ.

A Day of New Beginnings