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Published on 08/28/1995 All articles from this issue

Royal Stanton, founder of Schola Cantorum, dies in Arizona

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Royal Waltz Stanton, a nationally-known choral conductor and former Chairman of the Fine Arts Division at Foothill and De Anza colleges, died Aug. 19 at his home in Sedona, Ariz. of congestive heart failure. He was 78. A memorial service will be held in Los Altos in late September.

Mr. Stanton is best known as a creative choral organizer to thousands of former students and community singers who participated in his choral groups. For more than 40 years, he created and led choral groups in Northern and Southern California. Among the music organizations he created is the popular performing Schola Cantorum, now celebrating its 32 year.

His wide teaching experience encompassed every level of education from junior high school through graduate school and he conducted choirs in various churches throughout California. His choirs were widely admired for their natural tone, exceptional musicianship and spirit. One of his former students, the opera star Marilyn Horne, credits Stanton with her early successes.

Mr. Stanton's college choral groups toured Europe and the United States and sang in places as like Grace Cathedral and St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, The National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Harvard University, and Kings Chapel in Boston.

During Mr. Stanton's tenure as director of the Schola Cantorum (1964-1982), the group appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, The Peninsula Symphony and the San Jose Symphony.

As a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, he wrote or arranged more than 100 settings for choirs. He also authored two books, "The Dynamic Choral Conductor" and "Steps to Singing for Voice Classes."

Mr. Stanton was married for 39 years to Norine Parker, who died in 1979, and he is survived by his second wife, Patricia, a photographer, who moved to Sedona, Ariz. in 1991. He is also survived by two daughters, Lynne Stanton Boardman of Wellesley, Mass., and Marcia Hall of Severna Park, Md.; a stepdaughter, Tess Hugen of Atherton; and two brothers, Dr. Ernest Stanton of Irvine and Dr. Gordon Stanton of Riverside.

The family prefers donations be made to the Schola Cantorum c/o Alumni Committee, 1605 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View 94040.