Famous countertenor, he is the descendant of pastor and philanthropist Jean-Frédéric Oberlin.
He taught for many years at Hunter College of the City University of New York.
He earned a diploma in voice from the Juilliard School in 1951.
As a child, he sang advertising jingles on the radio for a variety of products, including flour and toilet paper. At age 12, he won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, a nationwide radio talent search.
He and English countertenor Alfred Deller helped initiate the 20th-century renaissance of the countertenor and the corresponding early-music revival. He made many recordings, and sang with early-music ensembles, as a soloist with orchestras, and in recital.