Peter Browne, a music professor at Binghamton University and a local community member, died on Sunday, May 10 after a three week fight with bladder cancer. He was 69 years old.

Browne grew up in the small town of Ridgewood, Pennsylvania. Naturally gifted, he began playing the piano at age three and was the organist for his church as a teenager.

After studying music at Bard College, Browne enrolled at BU to get his master’s degree. Shortly after graduating he got a job at the Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church in Binghamton, where he worked as the music director for 34 years.

In addition to his work at the church, Browne had worked as an adjunct professor in the BU music department since 1998. He taught music theory classes and directed the Harpur Chorale, a chorus group on campus.

According to his wife, Jill Browne, his ability to connect to people made him the man he was.

“Through all of this I’ve been meeting people that he has dealt with in the past, and it’s fascinating to me that I feel like I already know them,” she said. “He would keep up with their accomplishments and feel a lot of pride and joy in whatever they were doing as they moved on through their life.”

Browne was loved by his students. Maxim Pekarsky, who graduated from BU in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and music, said there was a distinct difference between his normal classes and those he took with Browne.

“In music, you have to connect with your students,” Pekarsky said. “Peter approached musicianship like a journey he was taking with us, not a presentation he was giving us. He watched out for us like friends.”

Rachel Graham, who graduated in May, had Browne as a professor and as a conductor for Harpur Chorale.

“As a friend I knew I could go to Peter for anything even if it was just complaining to him how long the day was,” Graham said. “He was like a father away from home to me and I loved the connection we had over our shared love of music and music making.”

BU associate music professor Bruce Borton said he had been friends with Browne since he started teaching. He said that Browne was a humble man, and that he will be missed.

“With Peter, it was never about ‘Peter.’ It was all about his singers, and he honestly felt honored to be able to work with quality people to execute and realize his musical ambitions,” Borton said. “I respected him for that, and I will miss him.”

For Carrie Buck, a senior double-majoring in Chinese and Spanish, Browne was an inspiration. She said that he will be missed in many ways, but for her the loss of someone who had the ability to influence others is what stands out most.

“He was, for me, a musical mentor and was always challenging us to take everything just one step further, to achieve just a little bit more, and we always complied,” Buck said. “He knew how to make music fun, and you could always tell that he just got it. He knew what music was all about.”

Browne is survived by his wife, Jill. Donations in his honor can be made to the Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church.