- Date Of Birth: March 30, 1933
- Date Of Death: July 7, 2018
- State: Michigan
William C. Appel, age 85, died unexpectedly on Saturday, July 7, 2018 in Kalamazoo, MI. He was born on March 30, 1933 in Somerset, PA a son of the late William and Dorothy (Wiley) Appel. Bill is survived by his devoted wife and eternal life partner of 63 years, Jean C. Appel. He was a loving and supportive father of three children, Carol (Robert) MacAskill of Toronto, Nancy (Mark Geib) Appel of Portage and James (Cassia) Appel of San Francisco; Grandfather of Michael & Daniel MacAskill, Victoria DeFeyter, Angela Mitchell and Andrius Appel; Great Grandfather of Ellodie & Oakley Roe; and brother of Robert W. Appel of Florida. Bill graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and received postgraduate degrees from Indiana University, Bloomington. He joined the faculty at University of Colorado and developed the university’s first Opera Performance program. Bill also served as an officer in the United States Army during the Korean conflict.
Bill pursued further study as an operatic tenor, which led to a distinguished career as a performer with The Turnau Opera Company of New York, The New York City Center Opera and many roles in Austria with The Vienna Volksoper. In the mid-sixties, Bill returned to the United States at Western Michigan University eventually earning the title Professor of Voice. There, he shared his talent and insight with emerging professionals, helping launch their musical careers. For his dedication to music and opera in the years that followed, Professor Appel received the Outstanding Service Award from WMU College of Fine Arts as well as the Distinguished Faculty Member Award by the Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities.
Bill retired from Western Michigan University’s School of Music in 2000. As a highly respected supporter of his community, Bill directed and coached several operas with the Kalamazoo symphony in collaboration with Maestro Yoshimi Takeda. He was also well known for his passion and commitment to the arts and was awarded The Community Medal of Arts by The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Over the past 25 years, Bill was an active volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, building homes and providing guidance as a member of the selection committee. Bill and Jean have been members of the First Presbyterian Church for more than five decades.
Bill’s Life Story
William Cecil Appel, IV, (Bill) was born on March 30, 1933 in Somerset, Pennsylvania to William C. Appel, Jr. and Dorothy Wiley Appel. Since both father and son had the same names, Bill soon became “Billy” to his family and schoolmates and his parents and brother continued to fondly call him Billy throughout their lives together. Bill and Dot really celebrated all of their son’s success and when able, attended many of his singing performances in Colorado, New York and Vienna. Later when Bill was directing/conducting at Western Michigan University, they would make the 7 hour drive to attend his student performances. They were a lively and happy couple who dearly loved their son.
Young Billy did his early childhood schooling in Butler, PA, and very early on showed a deep love for music. He started piano at the age of eight and loved making his own music. His mother, a gorgeous woman, was a flapper, and loved to dance. Bill would comment in his later years that he was actually raised by a single mom since his dad traveled all week as a regional manager for an insurance company in western PA. Billy and his mom were very close and really enjoyed each other’s company. They often baked chocolate cake by scratch together and she taught him how to play Bridge. Billy’s young mother made it a ritual for them to go to the movies together the very day a new release came out. Bill always said that he learned his stage direction from the movies as he enjoyed watching the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Clark Gable and the rest of the stars of the 40’s.
In 1944, when Billy was 11 years old, his younger brother, Robert was born. In 1946, at the age of 13, the family moved to Slippery Rock, PA and Billy was moved up to the next grade level in school making him the youngest child in his class! That summer he developed Osgood-Schlatter disorder in his knee and his doctor put him into a full-leg cast. This prevented him from playing the sports he so wanted to participate in! He passed the time by practicing his piano for hours. He was blessed to have the opportunity to study with the music professors at the nearby Slippery Rock College.
During these early high-school years, his mother reported with a smile, that he was so excited about every instrument in band, that every time she turned around, he came home with a new instrument and learned to play it!! He progressed so rapidly that the Slippery Rock College band director asked him to play in the college band, pinch-hitting on baritone or tuba, as well as his beloved trombone.
At age 17, in the autumn of 1950, Bill started college at Indiana State Teachers College majoring in… … .MUSIC, as they had one of the best music programs in the state. He thrived as a student playing his instrument in orchestra and band, singing in choir and taking extra conducting classes and musical theatre courses. It was here that he met Jean Carter, a beautiful brunette, that played the flute and a hot piccolo in orchestra. She could also sing, dance and act, and together they learned and played together in many of the same musicals. Bill had developed into a high tenor and was soon singing the leading roles in the musicals as well as soloing with the college choir.
Bill and Jean graduated from what is now Indiana University of Pennsylvania, in May of 1954, and Bill was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the ROTC program the same day. That summer Bill headed for Officers Training Camp while Jean went back to Pittsburgh to work.
Bill Appel and Jean Carter were wed six months later on December 22, 1954 and soon thereafter Jean joined him to live on-base in married housing at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Bill was moved up to 1st Lieutenant while at Fort Knox. While an Officer, he conducted for the Community Chorus and the Ft. Knox Post Chapel Choir, amongst other performances! In April, 1956, having completed his requirements for ROTC, Bill and Jean moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where he started summer courses toward his Master’s degree at Indiana University.
Daughter Carol was born in September of 1956. Bill became a Graduate Assistant in Voice and was hired as the Youth Choir Director and the church soloist at the Presbyterian Church, Bloomington. Over the course of his 2 year program, he sang several leading roles in Opera Theatre. He still had his passion for conducting and took extra classes with world famous conductors and stage directors.
Bill graduated, with distinction, with his Master of Music in Voice Performance in September 1957. He continued his studies at IU collecting 33 credits toward his Doctoral degree over the next 8 months. Daughter Nancy was born in the summer of 1958 just as he was accepting a teaching position at the University of Colorado. He moved his young family to Boulder to help develop the music department’s first opera performance program! At U.C. he continued his own vocal studies with Burton Coffin.
Soon the desire to perform led him to become a leading tenor with the Denver Lyric Opera under the European trained stage direction of John Newfield. He sang seven leading tenor roles at the Denver Lyric Theater and was an operatic soloist for the Denver Symphony. Dr. Newfield became Bill’s mentor and their favorite past-time was discussing styles, composers, singers, set designs, far into the night. In 1961, Bill became the music director for the Denver Civic Theater directing several musical comedies. Bill’s voice teacher encouraged him to pursue a professional career in New York and in the summer of 1961, the family moved to Bergenfield, New Jersey. In 1962, son James William was born. Seventeen years later, young Jim was singing with his baritone voice and playing guitar in his own band!! His Dad was always part of Jim’s audience regardless of how “wild” the bar was iJ
From 1962-1964, the Appel family resided near the Washington Bridge leading to NYC in Demarest, NJ
in a large, 100 year old house that Jean found while Bill was away touring. Jean taught piano at a nearby studio and Bill embarked on his professional singing career studying under Paola Novikova, who was also voice teacher for George London and Nicholai Gedda. Bill toured with the Turnau Opera Players, (and met Phyllis Rappeport, piano professor at WMU, during this time!), was on the solo roster for the New York City Opera Company, sang at the Meadowbrook Dinner Theatre and was also a soloist with the Bach Aria Group
In August of 1964, the Appel family moved to Vienna, Austria, with Carol and Nancy starting early elementary grades at the Volksschule and Bill on the solo roster at the Vienna Volkoper. He also sang at the Kammeroper as a character tenor and the Austrian Radio, Innsbruck and taught private voice lessons. Carol and Nancy remember being allowed to attend final dress rehearsals as their Dad, referred to by his german-speaking colleagues as “The American”, sang many character roles at the Volksoper.
Over the course of Bill’s eleven year professional singing career, he sang 30 roles in ~300 performances of operas and musicals.
Near the start of the school year, 1965, the Appel family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, as Bill accepted his position as Assistant Professor of Voice at Western Michigan University’s Music Department.
During his 35 year career at WMU, eventually becoming a full professor, Mr. Appel taught and coached many voice students, conducted the Grand Chorus from 1969-1972, conducted a musical comedy every autumn for years with his team of colleagues: Lyda Stillwell, stage director and Lindsey Canfield-Thomas, choreographer. Bill musically directed an opera every winter at WMU, sometimes stage-directing, which he was also gifted at, often collaborating with other friends and colleagues, including the late Bob Smith, another well-known and loved theater director in Kalamazoo.
Professor Appel received the Outstandinbg Service Award from the WMU College of Fine Arts as well as the
Some of the highlights of his career at WMU include… ..expanding the new opera program at WMU in the mid-1960’s, starting off with performances of Menotti’s The Medium and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at the small Oakland Recital Hall. Over the years there were numerous other operas performed at the Laura V. Shaw Theatre, including all the Mozart favorites-Cosi Fan Tutte, Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute as well as, Floyd’s Susannah, Poulenc’s Dialogue of the Carmelites. Bill staged many operas, including Barber of Seville, Coronation of Poppea, The Crucible, Hansel and Gretal, Turnadot, and a chamber opera for WMU-TV. He also served as musical director for such popular musicals as Man of La Mancha, Chicago, Cabaret and Gypsy. Daughter Nancy danced as a Bluebird Girl in Carnival in 1977 and son James acted in West Side Story in 1988.
As a highly respected supporter of his community Bill stage-directed several operas at WMU’s Miller Auditorium with the Kalamazoo Symphony, in collaboration with Maestro Yoshimi Takeda.
He was one of two conductors for Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, presented on 12/13/70, which included singers from the community and The Boys Choir from the Portage Public Schools. This musical prayer for peace was dedicated to all the victims of war and civil violence. This list of productions is not comprehensive as there are too many to name. *Further information is obtainable at Carl Doubleday’s Concert Office at the Dalton Center Music College on WMU’s campus.
In Grand Rapids, Bill served as artistic director and general manager for the Opera Association of Western Michigan in the late 60’s and 70’s, where he was stage director for Madame Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, La Traviata, Tosca, La Boheme and several others. Daughter Carol danced in one of the productions of Falstaff.
Bill served for four years as an advisor on the music panel for the Michigan Council for the Arts. In retirement, he served for several years as a member of the Board for Partners in Dance, a community dance advocacy organization. Because of Bill’s passion and commitment to the Arts, he was awarded The Community Medal of Arts by The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.
Bill retired from WMU’s School of Music in 2000, but remained a great contributor to his community by serving (25 years) as part of the Habitat for Humanity team; a canvasser for political candidates he believed in; a church member for 52 years at the First Presbyterian Church and many other family projects, including the building of two homes. Bill was always generous with his time, talent, money and resources helping wherever he could. He loved every member of his family unconditionally. He was a peacemaker and he was our family’s rock. We all appreciated him not only for what he did for us, but simply for who he was as a person.
Thank you Dad for everything—
And God bless you on the continuation of your soul journey…
