William 'Bill' Warwick Rhodes

William “Bill” Warwick Rhodes passed away Jan. 23, 2021 in San Diego. Born Dec. 28, 1942, in Spokane, Wash., to Ellen Jane and William Calvin Rhodes, Bill made his mark across many stages, singing powerful bass-baritone roles.

Bill Rhodes held degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. He studied with the great American soprano, Eileen Farrell, and one of his strongest musical mentors was the conductor, Fiora Corradetti Contino.

Rhodes performed more than 50 operatic and 25 musical theatre roles. He sang with opera companies such as the Seattle Opera Association, Peoria Civic Opera, Washington Civic Opera, Peabody Institute and the Indiana University Opera Theater.

Rhodes soloed with major American symphony orchestras, including the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.). He also soloed at many festivals including Spoleto, the Aspen Music Festival and the Carmel Bach Festival. He performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, as well as on NBC's Today Show.

In 1979 he joined the voice faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, retiring from his tenured position in the 1990s. Educating future singers was a passion that continued into his retirement and through a battle with cancer. He was very proud of his students and saw many of them begin their own singing careers. For more than a decade, Bill volunteered at Community Christian Service Agency, helping to feed and clothe the homeless of San Diego. Compassion, tolerance and social justice were very important to him.

Rhodes was an avid cyclist, golfer, tennis player and fisherman; he was especially fond of fishing for Kokanee salmon on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Bill was an extraordinary storyteller and his quick wit was appreciated by many.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Rachel Rhodes Chaplais and Nicholas Chaplais; his siblings, Nancy and Ken Byford, Tom Rhodes and Curt and Debbie Rhodes; his nieces and nephews, Spirit Laurson, Barbie Byford, Fair Stirman, Will Rhodes, Ben Rhodes, Jake Rhodes and Owen Rhodes; his cousins, Molly Harala, Dan Redfern, Floyd Redfern and Randy Warwick; and his partner, Jeanne Trimble.

Bill Rhodes will be cremated and his ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

In his final days he often spoke with his loved ones of the need to keep compassion for others in our hearts.