One of Utah's most influential musicians, Jay Evard Welch, died Sunday at age 83.

Welch was the former assistant conductor and conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a longtime University of Utah professor, and founder of the Mormon Youth Symphony and Choir, Jay Welch Chorale and Salt Lake Repertory Orchestra.

"He was one of the greatest men I ever knew," said Doreen Maxfield Payne, who for 11 years was assistant conductor of the Jay Welch Chorale (now called the Salt Lake Choral Artists) and who visited him in the hospital Thursday. "I can't give you enough superlatives."

Under the direction of Brady Allred, the Chorale paid tribute to Welch in late 2005 in a concert titled "Do You Hear What I Hear: A Tribute to Jay Welch." Allred, artistic director of the Salt Lake Choral Artists and U. music professor, said his aunt and uncle performed in the Jay Welch Chorale for many years. Allred called Welch's arrangement of "We Three Kings" a "masterpiece," part of the legacy of music he leaves behind, as well as being a "wonderful man."

"Jay Welch was a beloved teacher and an excellent choral conductor and technician," recalled Paul Wetzel, a former classical music critic of the Tribune. "His richly colored arrangements for chorus and orchestra, a staple of the Jay Welch Chorale, were a vivid reflection of his exuberant and lively personality. On the podium, he was almost a force of nature."

Welch was a U. music professor for 39 years before retiring in 1993. Ed Thompson, chair of the university's music department for 21 years, called Welch a mesmerizing, charismatic, gifted and brilliant teacher. Besides teaching music theory and other classes to music majors, Welch was skilled in teaching music appreciation to thousands of appreciative nonmajors, Thompson said. In 2004, the university's Emeritus Alumni Association awarded him the prestigious Merit of Honor Award.

Welch was born in Salt Lake City in 1925, and served in the Navy during World War II the Korean War. He graduated from University of California-Los Angeles with a major in mathematics and minor in music, and after studying at the Paris Conservatory of Music, he received a master's degree in composition and a Ph.D. in music from the U.

He is survived by his wife, Marcelle, whom he married in 1951 in the Salt Lake Temple. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a former LDS bishop, and served two missions to France.

Services will be Dec. 18 at noon at the LDS Church's Bonneville Stake Center, 1535 Bonneview Drive (1050 South), Salt Lake City. Friends and family may call at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 E. 1300 South, Salt Lake City, Wednesday between 5:30-8 p.m., and at the stake center Dec. 18 from 10:30-11:30 a.m.