To hear Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, all you used to need was one sitting with Robert “Bob” Haag on the piano.

Haag, board of trustees president and music professor for 40 years, passed away last month.

“He was a man of great integrity and a modest individual,” music professor and faculty coordinator of fine arts Leslie Back said.

“Bob, as he was referred to by family and friends, did great deeds for people and never expected anything in return.”

Back said Bob made individual gifts to the music department, gifts that were needed.

To help obtain a Steinway grand piano for Marsee Auditorium, Haag played a 10-hour concert. At that concert, he played all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas with only two short breaks. The concert raised $22,000.

The Haag Recital Hall was dedicated to him in 1995.

“He deserved that recognition,” Ann Bennet, 22, music major, said.

“I saw him play his last show, and I was amazed by the talent and brilliance that he gave off; I was inspired.”

Haag was born with a knack for music.

At age 3, he learned to play the piano by ear. By age 9, he played with the Bakersfield Symphony.

He also performed as a guest soloist for the Torrance Symphony and was one of the members of the board of directors of the Beach Cities Symphony.

As a young music student at UCLA, he decided to pursue and to combine his passions in music and education by becoming a music teacher.

“El Camino hired him right out of college; he was a highly intelligent person, not just in music but in general,” EC president Dr. Thomas Fallo said.

“He was one of the finest performers I have ever seen.”

Despite retirement, Haag continued to teach music and to inspire students through the Joy of Music, a program for night music classes taught by El Camino College teachers.

“He loved to teach. He never stopped being a good teacher,” Back said.

During his early years at El Camino, Haag developed the Center for the Arts, which has featured world-renowned musicians, such as Luciano Pavarotti.

For Haag, life was always about the music and helping the music department.

Haag was in love with music, but also had a passion for literature and higher education.

“Robert was a big supporter of the library. He donated materials and books. He enjoyed reading books,” Ed Martinez, public access librarian, said.

“El Camino was his life and to him, it was the students who counted,” he said.

As a resident of Torrance, Haag was known as a man who held friends and family close.

“He had many friends from different cultures and different places, many of them from his church. He was always loyal to his friends,” Fallo said.

During his years at El Camino, Haag served as president of board of trustees.

“We will elect a new president, but the elections will not take place until November,” Fallo said.

Memorial services were held Jan. 22 at the Calvary Presbyterian Church in Hawthorne.

“He was an irreplaceable man. No one will exactly be like him,” Fallo said.