Memorial Rites Set for Chorale Leader

Memorial services for Bob Mantzke, who led several chorale groups in the San Fernando Valley, are scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Bethel Lutheran Church in Encino.

Mantzke died of cancer on Nov. 30. He was 60.

Four chorale groups that he directed will dedicate a previously scheduled concert to his memory at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Encino church, 175000 Burbank Blvd. The groups are the Bethel Lutheran Church Choir; the Life Assurance Company, a church youth choir; the San Fernando Chorale, and the Union Bank Singers.

At the Valley Presbyterian School in Sepulveda, where he had taught music since 1980, Mantzke directed the award-winning Honor Choir. He also directed the Valley Men’s Chorus, which he took on several European tours.

Mantzke, who lived in Sepulveda for 20 years, leaves two daughters, Kimberly Anne, 19, and Christina Leigh, 15, and two sisters, Marilyn Allen and Jean Soper.