Dr. Lawrence Bigelow Bond of Nashville, Tenn., a former professor and chair of Music at Catawba College, died June 29, 2015. A celebration service will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3201 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, Tenn., at 2 p.m. on July 25.
Born in Lynn, Mass, he grew up in Richmond, Va. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Public School Music from the University of Richmond, Va., and his Master of Education degree from the College of William and Mary. He joined the music faculty of Catawba in 1962 and while on the faculty, he earned his Doctor of Music from Indiana University School of Music. He grew in the faculty ranks to eventually chair Catawba's Music Department, a position he held until his departure from the College in 1979 after 17 years of service.
After his time at Catawba, he moved to Orlando, Fla, where he was Minister of Music for Park Lake Presbyterian Church, and a voice teacher at Stetson University in nearby Deland, Fla. In 1986, he joined the faculty of Scarritt Graduate School in Nashville, Tenn., where he served two years before returning to Florida as Minister of Music at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa. Late in his career, he and wife Mary Virginia returned to Nashville and started their own music studio, where she taught piano and he taught voice lessons. In addition to his work in his music studio, he taught briefly at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music and served as choir director at First Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro. He joined the voice faculty of the Belmont University School of Music in 1990 and taught there through the end of the '14-'15 academic year.
An accomplished bass-baritone and an active church member, he presented solo recitals through the U.S. and appeared with symphony orchestras and opera companies throughout the Southeast.
He is survived by his aforementioned wife of 57-years, daughter Angela Bond Markus, son John Lawrence Bond, and three grandsons.
