Last Concert: Students Honor Violin Teacher Dying From Cancer

Dec. 31, 2010— -- He's taught and performed alongside as many as 2,000 students in a career that has spanned more than 50 years.

But on Thursday, the roles were reversed, as the students gave back to the teacher who they say taught them so much.

"He became like a second father to me," said Jorge Saade.

A violin professor at Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., Thomas Moore has stage IV kidney cancer and is expected to live just a few more weeks.

"The reality is....that I will be dead in a matter of days," Moore told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

The news prompted current and former students, some now professional musicians, to organize a concert in his honor.

Moore's career includes serving as the Florida Philharmonic concertmaster, creating a chamber music festival in North Carolina and performing in concerts around the world, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

The initial plan was to pay tribute to Moore after he passed on, but Moore's wife didn't think that was a good idea.

"I said no, that's no good," Sandra Walsh, Moore's wife, told the Sun-Sentinel. "I thought, 'Why don't we honor him in a way that he can enjoy, that he can hopefully take part in?' ''