James Carlyle "Carl" Denton (November 21, 1874 – November 14, 1955) was an American conductor. He was the first permanent conductor of the

Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. I ...

, then known as the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

Biography

Denton was born at Batley,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, England, to James Carl and Agnes Denton '' née'' Smith. Denton studied piano from age six, and added to this with study of the organ and violin. According to census records he immigrated to the United States in 1885. He returned to England since we also know that he studied at the Royal Academy of Music for three years, where he was a medalist. Then he became a staff member of the orchestra at Covent Garden where he played for the conductor composers

Granville Bantock Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (7 August 186816 October 1946) was a British composer of classical music. Biography Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was an eminent Scottish surgeon.Hadden, J. Cuthbert, 1913, ''Modern Music ...

, Edward Elgar,

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race birth, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when ...

, and

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...

. Denton was invited to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, to be organist at Trinity Episcopal Church, where he served from 1901 to 1910. He resigned that post in 1910 to become the organist and choirmaster at St. Stephens's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, a post he held for 45 years. He was considered an organ virtuoso. He also taught orchestra and music theory at Lincoln High School and other Portland schools for 25 years; and was the representative of the Royal Academy of Music in Portland. In 1910 Denton helped form the Portland Symphony Society, and in 1911 the orchestra elected Denton as one of four rotating conductors. He lifted his baton at the second concert of the season at the newly opened Heilig Theater on December 17, 1911 and on August 18, 1918, the symphony board appointed him from a field of three candidates as the Portland Symphony's first permanent conductor. After the appointment, he traveled to the east to choose new scores and hear new musical works. He also attended fourteen symphony concerts in

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and

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. He submitted his resignation as conductor on January 17, 1925 and his final conducting engagement was on May 20, 1925 at the Municipal Auditorium; a concert which included

's cantata ''A Tale of Old Japan''. At his request, he retained the post of conductor of the Portland Symphony Chorus, which was largely of his making. The next permanent appointed conductor was

Theodore Spiering Theodore Bernays Spiering (September 5, 1871 – August 11, 1925) was an American violinist, conductor and teacher. Spiering was born in Old North St. Louis, Missouri, where at age five he took his first lessons in violin from his father, co ...

, one of Denton's suggested rotation of three conductors to complete his symphony season. Spiering was able to serve only a short time before he died.

Private life

Denton was married Aileen W. Denton (née Webber) on July 14, 1909. After her death on September 7, 1953, he later moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, to live with his son James C. Denton.

References

*British Census, 1881. *Capitol's Who's Who for Oregon, A Triennial Reference Work 1942-1944. Portland, Capitol Publishing Co. *Capitol's Who's Who for Oregon, 1948-1949. Portland, Capitol Publishing Co. *Capitol's Who's Who for Oregon July 1953 Issue. Portland, Capitol Publishing Co. * United States Census, 1910. * United States Census, 1920. *"Appointment of Carl Denton".

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

August 20, 1918, page 9. *"Carl Denton; This Evening's Conductor". Portland Symphony Orchestra Program. April 8, 1925. *"Resignation of Carl Denton". The Oregonian February 13, 1925, page 6. *Obituaries for Carl Denton. Oregon Journal, November 22, 1955, page 6; and The Oregonian, November 22, 1955, page 23. {{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Carl 1874 births 1955 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) English emigrants to the United States Oregon Symphony