Snyder, Robert Ellis (1930-2021) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: Snyder, Robert Ellis (1930-2021)

Historical Note: Robert Ellis Snyder (1930-2021) was born in Columbus, Ohio to Rev. Dr. Ellis Emanuel and Pauline Walker Snyder. He earned his bachelor's of music from Capital University (OH) in 1952, studying with his father, Ellis, who directed the Chapel Choir there from 1921 until 1969. Shortly thereafter, he earned a bachelor's of divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary and a master's of music from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1956. Between 1949 and 1950, Snyder sang as a bass vocalist within the Deerwood Choir at the Deerwood Adriondack Music Camp near Saranac Inn, New York. Starting in 1956, he served for ten years as a minister of Faith Lutheran Church in Detroit. Following this, he began a PhD course in choral conducting at the University of Iowa, graduating in 1970 with a thesis on the choral music of Gottfried August Homilius. Snyder became director of choral activities at Eastern Illinois University in 1969. He would serve in this role until his retirement in 1995. While in Charleston, IL, Snyder directed the EIU Concert Choir, an ensemble that toured Europe in 1972 and sang at the ACDA national convention in St. Louis in 1975. Snyder served the ACDA as president of the Illinois Chapter from 1974 to 1976 and as the organization's national treasurer from 1985 to 1989. Following his retirement in 1995, he served as the interim pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mattoon, IL; Trinity Lutheran Church in Shumway, IL; Trinity Lutheran in Olney, IL; St. Andrew Lutheran in Champaign, IL; and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Aiken, South Carolina. Snyder died on October 29, 2021 in Bloomington, IL.

Note Author: Nolan Vallier