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Wassili Leps
Wassili Leps (May 12, 1870 – December 22, 1942) was a Russian-born American composer and conductor. Leps was born near Saint Petersburg. He graduated from the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber, Royal Conservatory of Dresden, where he studied with Franz Wüllner, Wilhelm Rischbieter, Doering, Eduard Rappoldi, and Felix Draeseke, Draeseke. He came to the United States in 1894. He first went to New Orleans, and then settled in Philadelphia, where he lived in The Powelton apartments and became active in Philadelphia's musical circles. He directed and conducted the Philadelphia Operatic Society and the Philadelphia Quartette Club. He became assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Carl Pohlig until 1912 and then under Leopold Stokowski, Stokowski (and then took over some of Stokowski's engagements as conductor of the Cincinnati Orchestra's summer seasons). He directed the Civic Symphony Orchestra. He taught piano, organ, and composition at Richard Zeckwer's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ''College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations''. One of nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution, it was the first US college to codify that admission and instruction of students was to be equal regardless of the religious affiliation of students. The university is home to the oldest applied mathematics program in the country and oldest engineering program in the Ivy League. It was one of the early doctoral-granting institutions in the U.S., adding masters and doctoral studies in 1887. In 1969, it adopted its Open Curriculum (Brown University), Open Curriculum after student lobbying, which eliminated mandatory Curriculum#Core curriculum, general education distribution requirements. In 197 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Fraternal Congress
The American Fraternal Alliance (AFA) is an umbrella group of fraternal orders in the United States. It was founded as the National Fraternal Congress of America in 1913, in Chicago, Illinois.Alan Axelrod ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'' New York; Facts on File, inc 1997 p. 24 and 179 It adopted its current name in 2011. History The origins of the AFA go back to November 17, 1886, when a congress of sixteen fraternal orders representing 535,000 members met in Washington, DC. The original meeting was called by the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the pioneer fraternal insurance society, to establish uniform insurance legislation in all states. The 1913 meeting in Chicago resulted in the formation of a permanent organization, the National Fraternal Congress (NFC). On March 21, 1901, several fraternal orders created the rival Associated Fraternities of America in Chicago.Schmidt p.46 It was created "as a protest against the workings" of the N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Scheel
Johann Friedrich Ludwig “Fritz” Scheel (7 November 1852 – 13 March 1907) was a German music conductor and the first musical director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was born in Fackenburg, in present-day Schleswig-Holstein. He emigrated to the United States in early 1893, and conducted concerts in New York City. He was hired to conduct the Trocadero Orchestra at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and later assembled a symphony orchestra in San Francisco. In 1900, Scheel became the first conductor and music director of the newly formed Philadelphia Orchestra. He conducted rehearsals in German, and played mostly German music. After its first season, he fired half the musicians and replaced them with European players. He was known for his concerts of military music, and one of his trademarks was military attire. Scheel continued as the Philadelphia Orchestra's music director until his death at age 54, in Philadelphia in 1907. He is buried in West Laure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Gertz
Irving Gertz (May 19, 1915 – November 14, 2008) was an American composer recognized for his compositions for many fantasy and horror B-movies and TV series of the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Gertz was born on May 19, 1915, in Providence, Rhode Island, and played the clarinet, piano, string bass and tuba as a youth, and attended the Providence College of Music. Gertz studied composition privately with composer and music theorist Walter Piston. He was hired by Columbia Pictures in 1938, but left to serve in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II. After his military service, he studied with composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Filmography Amongst his most recognized works are the music for the westerns ''Top Gun'' (1955) and '' Badman's Country'' (1958), and many horror films (often uncredited), such as '' The Alligator People'' (1959), '' Curse of the Undead'' (1959) and '' The Leech Woman'' (1960). His later film scores included '' Hell Bent for Leather'' (1960 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film), The Merry Widow'' and ''One Hour With You'') and Nelson Eddy (''Naughty Marietta (film), Naughty Marietta'', ''Rose Marie (1936 film), Rose-Marie'', and ''Maytime (1937 film), Maytime''). During the 1930s and 1940s she starred in 29 feature films, four nominated for Best Picture Academy Awards, Oscars (''The Love Parade'', ''One Hour with You'', ''Naughty Marietta (film), Naughty Marietta'' and ''San Francisco (1936 film), San Francisco''), and recorded extensively, earning three Music recording sales certification, gold records. She later appeared in opera, concerts, radio, and television. MacDonald was one of the most influential sopranos of the 20th century, introducing opera to film-going audiences and inspiring a generation of singer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celeste De Longpré Heckscher
Celeste de Longpré Heckscher née Massey (23 February 1860 – 18 February 1928) was an American composer. Life Celeste de Longpré Massey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Robert Valentine Massey Jr. and Julia Whitney Pratt Massey. She began composing at the age of ten but her parents objected to her study of music. She married banker and steel merchant John Austin Stevens Heckscher in 1883 and had four children. After her marriage, Heckscher studied composition with Henry Albert Lang and orchestration with Wasili Leps in Philadelphia, and later continued her studies in Europe. In 1913 Heckscher gave a concert of her own compositions in New York City at the Aeolian Hall. In 1918 she premiered her opera ''The Rose of Destiny'' at the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia as a fund-raiser for the Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Boutelje
Phil Boutelje (August 6, 1895, in Philadelphia – July 29, 1979, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles) was an American pianist, songwriter, composer, author and conductor. Biography Boutelje received specialized music training at the Philadelphia Music Academy. He was a military bandmaster during World War I. Returning to civilian life, he played piano for several jazz groups, including Nick Lucas in 1922 and Paul Whiteman. He later arranged music for the Whiteman orchestra. By the early 1930s he had been lured to Hollywood, becoming music director for Paramount Pictures and United Artists. Musical contributions Boutelje composed considerable music for film soundtracks, not always receiving credit for his contributions. However, during his career he received two Academy Award nominations for his film contributions (in 1939 for '' The Great Victor Herbert'', with Arthur Lange, and in 1943 for '' Hi Diddle Diddle'').IMDB.com Boutelje became a member of ASCAP in 1930. His chief mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ned Rorem
Ned Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Frequently described as a neoromantic composer, he showed limited interest in the emerging modernist aesthetic of his lifetime. As a writer, he kept—and later published—numerous diaries in which he spoke candidly of his exchanges and relationships with many cultural figures of America and France. Born in Richmond, Indiana, Rorem found an early interest in music, studying with Margaret Bonds and Leo Sowerby. He developed a strong enthusiasm for French music and received mentorship from Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson, among others. After two productive years in Morocco, Rorem was hosted by the arts patron Marie-Laure de Noailles in Paris, where he was influenced by the neoclassicist group Les Six, particularly Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in his numerous books. Thurber was one of the most popular humorists of his time and celebrated the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people. His works have frequently been adapted into films, including ''The Male Animal'' (1942), ''The Battle of the Sexes (1959 film), The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959, based on Thurber's "The Catbird Seat"), and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (adapted twice, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film), in 1947 and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013 film), in 2013). Life Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Charles L. Thurber and Mary Agnes "Mame" (née Fisher) Thurber on December 8, 1894. Both of his parents greatly influenced his work. His father was a sporadically empl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The White Deer
''The White Deer'' is a 96 page children's novel written by James Thurber in 1945. It is a fairy tale about the quest of the three sons of King Clode – Thag and Gallow, the hunters, and Jorn, the poet – who are set perilous tasks to win the heart and hand of a princess who had once been a beautiful white deer, but lost her memories. Plot The book begins with a description of the enchanted forest, which was supposed to sit between Moonstone Mines and Centaurs Mountain. The enchanted forest also had "a distant bell that causes boys to run and laugh and girls to stand and tremble." The toadstools would feel heavy in a person's hand but would become light enough to float away and trail black and purple stars. Rabbits could even pull their heads off of their bodies and tip them as if they were hats. King Clode and his sons, Tag and Gallow, would take sport in hunting, while the youngest son, Jorn, would rather play his lyre and create poetic verses. King Clode told a st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame Butterfly (short Story)
"Madame Butterfly" is a short story by American lawyer and writer John Luther Long. It is based on the recollections of Long's sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husband, a Methodist missionary. It was first published in ''Century Magazine'' in 1898 and adapted for the stage in 1900. Giacomo Puccini based his 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'' on the play. Plot US Navy Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton arrives in Nagasaki. He leases a house for 999 years and marries a 17-year old geisha, Cho-Cho-San. Pinkerton bans her family from visiting, and they disown her. Nevertheless, she feels she is "the mos' bes' happy female woman in Japan—mebby in that whole world". Pinkerton's duties take him away from Nagasaki, but he promises to return "when the robins nest again". Cho-Cho-San has faith that he will return and bears their baby. She names him Trouble. A marriage broker harangues Cho-Cho-San to take a new husband. He warns that if Pinkerton does return it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
