B.E. Montgomery, head of Penn music

Bruce Eglinton Montgomery of Chestnut Hill, director of Gilbert & Sullivan Players of Philadelphia and director of musical studies at the University of Pennsylvania including the Penn Glee Club, the Mask & Wig Club, the University Band, and the Penn Singers, died Saturday of heart failure at his summer home in Spruce Head Island, Maine. Mr. Montgomery died one day after his 81st birthday.

"When Monty was 5, he directed, wrote, produced, made costumes, starred and sang in his first opera for friends and neighbors at his family's summer home in Wildwood Crest," said his sister Elizabeth Thomas. "Our father was a professional opera singer, and Mother could have been, but she chose to raise a family. Music oozed from Monty's veins."

Mr. Montgomery earned his first paycheck at 5 when he was cast in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Trial by Jury. His parents took him out of school each Friday to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music.

Many years later, the orchestra would perform one of his compositions. Mr. Montgomery also did occasional narration at orchestra performances.

After graduating from Germantown Friends School in 1945, Mr. Montgomery earned a bachelor's degree in performing arts in 1950 from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan. His senior project was a musical comedy that he wrote and starred in.

He began his career at Penn in 1950 as an assistant director of the Cultural Olympics. ("A terrible name for a good program," he said in an interview in 2000.) Mr. Montgomery joined the Army and entertained the troops in Japan during the Korean War before returning to his job at Penn.

In 1955, he was named director of the Penn Glee Club, which was founded in 1862. Mr. Montgomery got the all-male chorus out of formal "penguin clothes," jazzed up the performances with dancing and costumes, and put on a show that toured the world until he retired in 2000.

"I grew up in Cape May and Monty taught me not to be afraid to perform in Israel or China," said Philadelphia actor Jeff Coon, former president of the Penn Glee Club. "He made me dream: Why not? If it were not for him, I wouldn't have had the courage to be an actor good enough to support my family with my art. He showed me life is full of opportunities."

Mr. Montgomery was an expert on all things Gilbert and Sullivan.

His father, James, who founded Philadelphia Gilbert & Sullivan Players in 1950, died the day of opening night of Patience at the Plays and Players Theater in Center City in 1955. Following his father's wishes and steeped in the "show must go on" culture, Mr. Montgomery filled in for his father as director and played his own part in the production that night. He then took over his father's position as head of the group.

Under Mr. Montgomery's guidance, the Gilbert & Sullivan Players performed more than 65 productions. He directed and performed comedy roles in each of the 14 Gilbert and Sullivan operas. He was also a stage director for the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Chester County from 1987 until 2007.

Mr. Montgomery was named director of Penn musical activities in 1956 and, by 1980, was head of 10 musical groups at the university. He served as director of the Penn Singers until his death.

He wrote his memoir, Brothers, Sing On: My Half-Century Around the World With the Penn Glee Club, which was published in 2005 by University of Pennsylvania Press.

Mr. Montgomery wrote the music and lyrics for the 1964 off-Broadway show The Amorous Flea, which was acclaimed by critics in New York.

Mr. Montgomery was named Man of the Year by the Friars Club of Philadelphia in 2006. Penn honored him by naming the studio theater at the Annenberg Center the Bruce Montgomery Theatre.

In addition to his sister, Mr. Montgomery is survived by a brother, James; another sister, Constance Cook; and 10 nieces and nephews.

Burial will be private and a celebration of life is being planned.

Donations may be sent The Glee Club Endowment Fund No. 402396, c/o Platt Student Performing Arts House, 160 Stouffer Commons, 3702 Spruce St., Philadelphia 19104.

To see Mr. Montgomery's work, go to www.montyart.com.