Thomas Dunn, a nationally known choral conductor and veteran music professor retired from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty, died Sunday, Oct. 26 in Bloomington.

Dunn, 82, retired from IU in 1999 after nine years of teaching there, although he had continued as a mentor, especially to graduate students. Previously Dunn had retired from Boston University.

Earlier still, Dunn led the Festival Orchestra and Chorus of New York, becoming part of the movement to revive early music during the 1960s. Through 1986, he was conductor of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society.

"He was one of the last of a very important generation of choral conductors, including Robert Shaw and Roger Wagner," said Jan Harrington, a retired Jacobs School of Music professor and former Choral Department chairman. "He was instrumental in the introduction of historical performance practice in the '60s, and was one of the first people to perform 'Messiah' with small forces, instead of a huge symphonic choir and orchestra."

A South Dakota native, Dunn began his career as a church music director in Baltimore and Philadelphia. In 1957, he became music director of New York City's Church of the Incarnation.

A memorial service for Dunn will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 at Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington.