Music Department's Lee Teply Dies

July 15, 2014

Lee Teply

Lee Teply, who taught music history and music theory at Old Dominion University and was widely known as the founder of the early instruments ensemble Collegium Musicum and director of the Madrigal Singers, died Sunday, July 13, in Norfolk.

Teply, who also was music director at First Lutheran Church of Norfolk, joined the ODU faculty in 1986.

"Dr. Teply was an amazing educator, performer and scholar," said John Toomey, chair of the ODU Department of Music. "This is a huge loss for ODU and the music community in general."

In 1988, Teply became director of ODU's Madrigal Singers and he produced the university's annual Madrigal Banquet. He also was involved with ODU's Opera Workshop, conducting the productions of "Dido and Aeneas," "The Telephone" and Douglas Moore's "Gallantry."

He held degrees in organ performance, music theory and literature from Oberlin College Conservatory and Eastman School of Music. He studied conducting with William Weinert, Robert Fountain, Harriet Simons and Robert DeCormier.

Before moving to Virginia, Teply was a full-time church musician in Lewiston, N.Y.

In addition to being the music director at First Lutheran, Teply also had been associated with the music at St. Andrew's Episcopal, Royster Memorial Presbyterian and Epworth United Methodist churches.

A harpsichordist, Teply also played with the Virginia Pro Musica/McCullough Chorale and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. For several years, he provided program notes for the chorale and the symphony and recently continued to do so for the Feldman Chamber Music Society.

He was also a freelance music reviewer for The Virginian-Pilot.