He started studying the clarinet at 14, and volunteered as an usher at Los Angeles Philharmonic concerts, where he heard the Belgian oboist Henri de Busscher, whose “singing” style inspired him to switch to the oboe at 16.

He performed and coached students at numerous other music festivals in Europe, Japan, China, Korea, and Mexico.

His former students include Sherie Aguirre,[10] Stephen Caplan,[11] Ricardo Castaneda, Mark Christianson,[12] Peter Cooper,[13] John Dee,[14] Marc Gordon,[9] Michael Henoch,[15] Yoko Kojima,[16] Humbert Lucarelli,[9] Patrick McFarland,[17] Jane Marvine,[18] Robert Morgan,[19] Nora Post,[20] Christopher Raphael,[9][21] Michael Rosenberg,[1] Grover Schiltz,[22] Mark Seerup,[23] Ian Shafer,[24] Robert Sheena,[25] Carl Sonik,[26] Linda Strommen, Rudy Vrbsky,[27] and Keisuke Wakao.

[9][28] Following his retirement from Northwestern in 2003, he moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with his beloved wife Mary and son James to live near family.

He died in Woodstock, Vermont, on his 94th birthday (March 12, 2014), surrounded by family and listening to Bach's St. Matthew Passion.