Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 among others. The year 1963 was an important year for McCollum's opera life. He began the year singing Licinius in Gaspare Spontini's rarely heard opera La Vestale for his debut with the American Opera Society at Carnegie Hall. This was followed by an offer from Julius Rudel, then director of the New York City Opera, to join the roster of principal tenors at his company. McCollum accepted and made his debut with the company in October 1963 as Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Then in December he recorded the role of King Kaspar in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors in a television production made by the NBC Opera Theatre. He returned for one more opera with the New York City Opera in 1964, the world premiere of Lee Hoiby's Natalia Petrovna. After the 1960s McCollum's career began to slow down. He appeared mostly in concerts during the early 1970s and did not perform much after the mid-1970s. He taught for many years on the voice faculty of the University of Michigan. He died in October 2015 at the age of 93. References 1922 births 2015 deaths American operatic tenors University of Michigan faculty People from Coalinga, California Singers from California Classical musicians from California