Harold George Lutz

When a musical production to which he contributed compositions and his tenor voice fell short of hitting it big, he took his talents and academic credentials to Grossmont High School.

From 1939 to 1955, except for a few years overseas during World War II, Mr. Lutz taught music and directed the choir and an award-winning marching band.

He further enriched his musical legacy by composing the school hymn, "Hail to Thee, Dear Grossmont," and directing and writing music for the Westminster Choir at First Presbyterian Church in San Diego.

At the church's 90th anniversary celebration in 1959, he conducted the 140-voice choir in a performance that included two of his spiritual compositions.

Mr. Lutz, who retired from El Cajon Valley High School after more than 30 years of teaching in East County, died Dec. 23 at [Timber Ridge Assisted Living Facility, in Eureka, CA]. He was 93.

The cause of death was complications from internal bleeding and a bacterial infection, said his son Raymond.

In 1947, Mr. Lutz brought together music lovers and the East County business community to create the Grossmont Community Concert Association to support performing artists and bring musical talent to the area. The association began modestly with performances in the Grossmont High gym and evolved into the driving force behind the East County Performing Arts Center, its current home.

"My father could play just about any musical instrument," said his son, the current president of the Grossmont Community Concert Association. "His forte, though, was conducting – getting people to perform in a choir or a band.

"He did the choreography for the Grossmont High band at halftime shows and when it won in statewide competitions and the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena."

With the opportunity to be the first choir director at fledgling El Cajon Valley High, Mr. Lutz left Grossmont in 1956. He taught business classes at El Cajon Valley High before retiring in the early 1970s to manage apartments and real estate investments.

Property management brought out the handyman in Mr. Lutz, who had learned many of his building-maintenance skills as the son of a plumber in his native Upland.

"He turned down a chance to take over his father's plumbing business," Raymond Lutz said. "He wanted a career in music."

First, though, he made sure he had a solid academic foundation.

Mr. Lutz earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music at the University of Redlands and Pomona College, respectively. He then studied two years in a doctoral program at the University of Southern California and worked in Hollywood as an aide to musical producers.

In the late 1930s, when he presented one of his musical compositions, he devoted his energies to production and not enough to promotion, his son said.

Early in his teaching career, Mr. Lutz left Grossmont High to serve during World War II as a meteorologist in the Army Air Forces. He returned from the military to help Grossmont's blue-and-gold-clad band establish a tradition of quality musicianship that has continued for decades.

In 1988, still not ready to settle into a leisure retirement, Mr. Lutz moved from El Cajon to Humboldt County, where he bought a 75-acre recreational vehicle park in rustic Stafford that he operated with his wife, Mary, for seven years.

"He just loved the park; it probably added 10 years to his life," his son said. "He started doing gardening and landscape architecture."

With his vision failing because of macular degeneration, Mr. Lutz sold the park and moved to Fortuna, where he was surrounded by giant redwoods on the state's North Coast.

Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Mary; daughters, Anita Dominguez of Paradise, Rising Starr of Waterville, Wash., and Tamara DeBernard of Del Mar; son, Raymond of El Cajon; sister, Shirley Bertolino of El Cajon; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

A private celebration of life was held Dec. 24 in the redwoods near Fortuna.