Burnet Corwin Tuthill (November 16, 1888 – January 18, 1982) was an American conductor, composer and musicologist. He co-founded the

National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Resto ...

and served as its secretary from 1924 to 1959. He also organized and became the first conductor of the

Memphis Symphony Orchestra The Memphis Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Memphis, Tennessee. The orchestra's primary performing venue is the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. History Prior to the formation of the orchestra, classical orchestras had ...

Biography

Tuthill was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on November 16, 1888, the son of

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

architect William Tuthill. He received his B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1909. He played clarinet in the Columbia University Orchestra and later became its conductor. After Columbia, Tuthill began a career in business. From 1922 to 1930, he was business manager of the

Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, w ...

. He studied at the

College of Music of Cincinnati The College of Music of Cincinnati, also known as the Cincinnati College of Music, was an American music school in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was established in 1878 by George Ward Nichols with the financial help of Reuben R. Springer. It merged with ...

between 1930 and 1935, earning a master's degree in 1935. He did not begin to compose until 1927, when he was 39 years of age. Tuthill became music director of Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) after receiving his degree. He later became music director of the Memphis College of Music, which later merged with Rhodes, and founded the

, serving as conductor from 1938 to 1946. Among his students in the Memphis College of Music was the composer

Moondog Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), known professionally as Moondog, was an American composer, musician, performer, music theoretician, poet and inventor of musical instruments. Largely self-taught as a composer, his ...

. Tuthill founded the Society for the Publication of American Music (SPAM) in 1919 and the

(NASM) in 1924, serving as its secretary from 1924 to 1959. Tuthill died in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, on January 18, 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuthill, Burnet 1888 births Columbia College (New York) alumni Rhodes College faculty American conductors (music) 1982 deaths University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni 20th-century American musicologists