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Friends mourn Chatham musician
Jan 23, 2012 3:00 pm
The Fri., Jan. 20 Chatham Courier included a tribute to local musician Walter Bauer, whose body was found in a creek downstream from the Normans Kill Bridge in Delmar, Wednesday. He was 45-years-old. Police located a stranded vehicle off to the side of the bridge’s roadway, and traced it back to Bauer's residence in Chatham. When Chatham police officers arrived at his home they found a disturbing message, which led them to believe he committed suicide. Bauer belonged to many bands and performing groups, including Conehead Buddha, Chatham Airplane, and the PantoLoons of the Ghent Playhouse. Rob Caldwell, owner of Musica in Hudson, was a long time friend of Bauer's. He spoke to the Courier's Audra Jornov about the man and his music. “He approached every genre of music with reverence ... it was sacred to him,” said Caldwell. Friends and employers also mourned the loss of a talented artist and a reliable worker. Bauer was a chocolatier and beekeeper at Tierra Farm in Valatie and a yogurt producer at the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company. Bauer's sister, Sheri Bauer-Mayorga, hosts a radio show "What is Music?" every other Sunday at 9 a.m. on WGXC. Read the tribute to Walter Bauer in the Chatham Courier and Caldwell wrote about Bauer and his music in a holiday column in the Register Star in December.