While Colin C. Sterne assembled an impressive career as a professor and researcher in performance practice, it is what he gave back to students that made the biggest impact.

Don Franklin, former chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Music, remembers Mr. Sterne, of Verona, as a tall man with a goatee who always had a twinkle in his eye and a wry sense of humor.

"Students said he was totally engaged in the topic at hand and conveyed great enthusiasm about music, with the ability to communicate abstract musical concepts in a clear and concise manner," he said.

Mr. Sterne, formerly of Monroeville, died Wednesday of pneumonia. He was 86.

Born in Capetown, South Africa, Mr. Sterne was a prolific musician and composer who held students spellbound.

He went to Miami University in Ohio and served in the Army in World War II. Afterward, Mr. Sterne received a master's degree in composition at the Juilliard School and studied at the Paris Conservatory.

Mr. Sterne taught music at the University of Pittsburgh for 38 years until his retirement in 1986. He was composer, founder and conductor of the Ars Antiqua Players, an early-music group, and a founder of the Renaissance & Baroque Society.

Mr. Sterne also was a member of the American Musicological Society, the American Recorder Society and the Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity. He published his own vocal, instrumental and choral compositions and edited the medieval liturgical drama, "The Son of Getron." He also published numerous articles on medieval and Renaissance performance practice.

Mr. Sterne conducted the Pitt Men's Glee Club and the Collegium Musicum, a small early-music ensemble. He received rave reviews for his music history lectures.

Jean Thomas of Highland Park, who met Mr. Sterne while studying for her Ph.D., said the professor was approachable, genial and the most important influence on her career.

"He was a music inspiration and my most important adviser when I was getting my Ph.D. He had a real sense of drama as a teacher, and that's why he was so inspirational. He played anything from Wagner to Elvis Presley, so he covered the gamut."

Mr. Sterne is survived by his wife, Roberta; daughters Robin Sterne, of Colorado; Hilary Sterne, of New York; and Alison S. Frederick, of Ross; and three grandchildren.

The memorial service is 11 a.m. tomorrow at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 4503 Old William Penn Highway.