David Armand Sprenkle, 65, retired music professor at West Chester University
"Students absolutely loved him," said a West Chester University official. "He was a very accomplished musician on his own, but also a perfect blend of the teacher-scholar."
David Armand Sprenkle, 65, of Downingtown, a retired music professor at West Chester University whose specialty was teaching voice performance and choral conducting, died Monday, Aug. 14, at home after a 10-year battle with cancer.
Born in Baltimore, Dr. Sprenkle moved with his family to the West Chester area when he was 4.
He was a 1969 graduate of West Chester Henderson High School and went on to receive a bachelor's degree in music education in 1973 and a master's degree in vocal performance a year later, both from what is now West Chester University.
He left the West Chester area to earn a doctoral degree in musical arts from the University of Maryland, College Park and eventually circled back to teach at West Chester University. He launched his career in 1975 at Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he taught voice and trombone, and was chairman of the music department.
Dr. Sprenkle returned to West Chester University in 1987 as a member of the vocal choral department. He directed the university's chamber choir and Collegium Musicum, a chamber ensemble specializing in the use of authentic instruments and performance techniques in the music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras.
Dr. Sprenkle rose to chairperson of the vocal choral department and served as undergraduate coordinator for the School of Music. He retired in 2011, and three years later was given the title of professor emeritus.
"David has just been an absolutely wonderful colleague, and a real gentleman, too," said Timothy Blair, the university's associate vice president for cultural engagement. "His magic was his humanity. Students absolutely loved him. He was a very accomplished musician on his own, but also a perfect blend of the teacher-scholar."
Below, Dr. Sprenkle rehearses his rendition of "An Irish Blessing" in May 2014 at the Church of the Loving Shepherd in West Chester.
Brian Drumbore, a former student who teaches high school music in Wilmington, said Dr. Sprenkle trusted his pupils to behave like professional musicians long before they knew how. "He put you in situations where you were forced to make a decision on your own," Drumbore said.
At one point, Dr. Sprenkle handed Drumbore some music and assigned him to take a group of musicians to perform a concert in public. Dr. Sprenkle would not be there to conduct; it was up to the students to make the event a success. "It was a huge jump start, coming into that world for me," Drumbore said.
Alan Wagner, a retired voice professor at West Chester, remembered Dr. Sprenkle in 1967 as a student and shaggy-haired young man with glasses who sang in a rock band. Over time, Dr. Sprenkle became a much-loved colleague on the music-school faculty.
"He really was one of my favorite friends and colleagues," Wagner said. "We had lunch together, and he brightened my week every time I saw him."
A gifted vocalist since boyhood, Dr. Sprenkle. a tenor, performed for the university community and elsewhere. Below, he sings "E lucevan le stelle" on Oct. 7, 1991, in a concert at West Chester University. He is accompanied by his father, pianist Charles A. Sprenkle.
Dr. Sprenkle was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia professional music fraternity and Pi Kappa Lambda, a national music honor society
He was the husband of Elizabeth Berra Sprenkle, with whom he celebrated 40 years of marriage on July 23. The couple lived in Downingtown and reared two children.
Outside his duties at the university, he enjoyed tennis, cataloging family photos, and researching genealogy. He was known for his humor.
"He could be a goofball," said his daughter, Jessa Berra Sprenkle. "He didn't take himself too seriously."
Besides his wife and daughter, he is survived by his mother, Jean Schriver Sprenkle; a son, Justin Berra Sprenkle; two grandchildren; and a sister.
A 1 p.m. visitation Wednesday, Aug. 23, will be followed by a 2:30 p.m. celebration of life and memorial service at the Gables at Chadds Ford, 423 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford. Interment will be private.
Memorial donations may be made to any charity, or to the Charles and David Sprenkle Scholarship Fund, 202 Carter Dr., West Chester, Pa. 19382. The annual scholarship goes to a rising sophomore to help pay tuition.