Sam Hagan, whose tenor voice enriched Atlanta's musical life, has died at 81.
Accomplished in opera, Hagan performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Opera; he sang at Maynard Jackson's inauguration and cantored a mass for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
But many Atlantans will remember him best as a soloist in the annual performance of Handel's "Messiah" at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. For 40 years, Hagan's pure tenor was the first voice the congregation heard, at the beginning of the great oratorio.
It was not Advent, said members of the congregation, until they heard Sam sing.
Hagan died suddenly Sunday of a heart attack at his East Lake home. He was 81.
A memorial service will be held in the fall.
As a young man, Hagan was hired to teach biology at Westminster Schools and later at Atlanta Metropolitan State College. He enjoyed a long teaching career, but his heart was in music. Even as a graduate student at Emory, he sang with the Southern Regional Opera Company and then with the Atlanta Opera.
Sam is survived by his wife, Martha Hagan; his sister Mary Ann Blossomgame; brothers-in-law Jimmie Smith and Marcellus McKeever; a sister-in-law Dr. Sharon Cregier; nephews and nieces and grand-nephews, and grand-nieces. He was preceded in death by his sisters Carolyn McKeever and Marjorie Smith.
Read more about Sam Hagan on ajc.com
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