Obituary for Leslie Guinn
The family of Leslie Guinn is very sad to announce his death on Saturday, December 12, 2020.
Leslie joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1971 where he served as chair of the voice department faculty and was director of the School of Music’s Division of Vocal Arts from 1986 until his retirement in 1999. After retirement, he continued an affiliation with the University of Michigan for another year in their then newly formed Vocal Health Center.
Leslie was born in Conroe, Texas. His father, Leslie Guinn, was a painter, and his mother, Sybil Guinn, was a homemaker. They recognized their son's love of music from a very early age. His mother loved to share that before the age of two, he made it known he preferred to climb into her rocking chair and sing himself to sleep, usually with a cowboy song. He had not yet been introduced to the music of his beloved Schubert.
From his kindergarten report card……. “He shows excellent hand coordination, but he skips on one foot. He has an excellent sense of rhythm and thoroughly enjoys music. Can match tones. Would continue to encourage his singing. He is a spontaneous and delightful little boy, and though he is quite a little tease and conscious of his way of doing, he knows when to stop.” His loving parents followed the advice of his very astute teacher and were supportive of all of his endeavors.
He attended Northwestern University. Shortly after his graduation, he was drafted and served as a soloist with the US Army Chorus. His New York debut was with Leopold Stokowski singing Carmina Burana, a work he was to sing so many times that he later said it supported his growing family in the early days of his career. He performed with many major symphony orchestras, including the Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, National, Cincinnati, and L’Orchestre de Monte Carlo. Early in his career, he performed with such groups as the Abbey Singers, New York Pro Musica, and Music from Marlboro. Summer festival appearances included Marlboro, Tanglewood, Grant Park, Meadowbrook, Caramoor, Saratoga, Casals, Cabrillo, and Aspen Music Festival where he served as Artist/Teacher for seventeen years.
He made his European debut in 1983 singing the title role in a new production of Berg’s Wozzeck with Dennis Russell Davies. As an advocate of contemporary music he premiered many new works including the West Coast premiere of Bernstein’s Mass and William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and Experience and several works written expressly for him, including the Rochberg String Quartet #7 and Christopher Rouse’s Mitternachtlieder. His recording of Barber’s Dover Beach with the Concord String Quartet won a Grammy nomination for best chamber music and was included in High Fidelity’s list of “Best American Music on Record.” He recorded Robert Schumann duets with mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani and Gil Kalish, pianist. Their recording of Songs of Stephen Foster was named “Record of the Year” by Stereo Review Magazine.
He loved his interactions with his students and was grateful for ongoing contact with so many. In recent times, he was honored to collaborate with Ann Arbor students from Skyline High School in the Legacies Project. The interview can be accessed via a YouTube interview.
While Leslie was widely known for his beautiful voice, his family knew him for his infinite capacity for love and the ability to find joy in everything, his generosity of spirit, and his quiet faith.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Guinn of Ann Arbor, MI; his three children, Robin (George) Talbot of NC, Jonathan Guinn (Cheryl Blackington) of Grand Rapids, MI, Rachel (Dan) Feder of Ann Arbor, MI; his grandchildren, Megan Talbot of NC, Chelsea (Anthony) Berlucci of Rye Beach, NH, Patrick Talbot of NC, Devon Guinn of Brooklyn, NY; and great-grandson, Logan Talbot of NC.
Due to considerations of Covid-19, his family was able to celebrate his life in a liturgy via Zoom which was made possible and facilitated by his beloved friend, Fr. Joe Wagner, S.J. of St. Mary Student Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his honor to a charity of your choice.
Please view the links below to a couple recordings of Leslie's performances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMIwmvUfgqw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SENxN_khaDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXproyt0Q9Q&feature=youtu.be
Leslie joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1971 where he served as chair of the voice department faculty and was director of the School of Music’s Division of Vocal Arts from 1986 until his retirement in 1999. After retirement, he continued an affiliation with the University of Michigan for another year in their then newly formed Vocal Health Center.
Leslie was born in Conroe, Texas. His father, Leslie Guinn, was a painter, and his mother, Sybil Guinn, was a homemaker. They recognized their son's love of music from a very early age. His mother loved to share that before the age of two, he made it known he preferred to climb into her rocking chair and sing himself to sleep, usually with a cowboy song. He had not yet been introduced to the music of his beloved Schubert.
From his kindergarten report card……. “He shows excellent hand coordination, but he skips on one foot. He has an excellent sense of rhythm and thoroughly enjoys music. Can match tones. Would continue to encourage his singing. He is a spontaneous and delightful little boy, and though he is quite a little tease and conscious of his way of doing, he knows when to stop.” His loving parents followed the advice of his very astute teacher and were supportive of all of his endeavors.
He attended Northwestern University. Shortly after his graduation, he was drafted and served as a soloist with the US Army Chorus. His New York debut was with Leopold Stokowski singing Carmina Burana, a work he was to sing so many times that he later said it supported his growing family in the early days of his career. He performed with many major symphony orchestras, including the Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, National, Cincinnati, and L’Orchestre de Monte Carlo. Early in his career, he performed with such groups as the Abbey Singers, New York Pro Musica, and Music from Marlboro. Summer festival appearances included Marlboro, Tanglewood, Grant Park, Meadowbrook, Caramoor, Saratoga, Casals, Cabrillo, and Aspen Music Festival where he served as Artist/Teacher for seventeen years.
He made his European debut in 1983 singing the title role in a new production of Berg’s Wozzeck with Dennis Russell Davies. As an advocate of contemporary music he premiered many new works including the West Coast premiere of Bernstein’s Mass and William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and Experience and several works written expressly for him, including the Rochberg String Quartet #7 and Christopher Rouse’s Mitternachtlieder. His recording of Barber’s Dover Beach with the Concord String Quartet won a Grammy nomination for best chamber music and was included in High Fidelity’s list of “Best American Music on Record.” He recorded Robert Schumann duets with mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani and Gil Kalish, pianist. Their recording of Songs of Stephen Foster was named “Record of the Year” by Stereo Review Magazine.
He loved his interactions with his students and was grateful for ongoing contact with so many. In recent times, he was honored to collaborate with Ann Arbor students from Skyline High School in the Legacies Project. The interview can be accessed via a YouTube interview.
While Leslie was widely known for his beautiful voice, his family knew him for his infinite capacity for love and the ability to find joy in everything, his generosity of spirit, and his quiet faith.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Guinn of Ann Arbor, MI; his three children, Robin (George) Talbot of NC, Jonathan Guinn (Cheryl Blackington) of Grand Rapids, MI, Rachel (Dan) Feder of Ann Arbor, MI; his grandchildren, Megan Talbot of NC, Chelsea (Anthony) Berlucci of Rye Beach, NH, Patrick Talbot of NC, Devon Guinn of Brooklyn, NY; and great-grandson, Logan Talbot of NC.
Due to considerations of Covid-19, his family was able to celebrate his life in a liturgy via Zoom which was made possible and facilitated by his beloved friend, Fr. Joe Wagner, S.J. of St. Mary Student Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his honor to a charity of your choice.
Please view the links below to a couple recordings of Leslie's performances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMIwmvUfgqw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SENxN_khaDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXproyt0Q9Q&feature=youtu.be