Claire Raphael Reis (August 4, 1888 – April 11, 1978) was a

music promoter A promoter works with event production and entertainment industries to promote their productions, including in music and sports. Promoters are individuals or organizations engaged in the business of marketing and promoting live, or pay-per-view ...

and the founder of the People's Music League in

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. The League was intended to provide free concerts for immigrants and public schools. Born Claire Raphael in Brownsville, Texas, Claire married businessman Arthur M. Reis in 1915. She was educated in Europe and New York City. She received a teaching credential and began teaching music in New York schools, using the

Montessori The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

method. In 1914, she helped to found the Walden School. In 1922, Louis Gruenberg suggested that Claire Reis become the executive secretary of the International Composers' Guild. The guild had organized its first season at the

off-broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

Greenwich Village Theatre, which seated 450 people. Once in the post, she was able to relocate the second season to the Broadway based Klaw Theatre, which had a capacity of 805. After hosting the American premiere of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a m ...

on 4 February 1923, she proposed staging a repeat performance, contrary to a rule of the ICG emanating from

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*Eadgar (disambiguation) *Edgar (disambiguation) *Edgardo {{disambig, given name French masculine given names ...

that aside from an immediate encore, no musical piece should be scheduled by the ICG twice. Later that year she motivated several members to secede from the ICG to found the

League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...

. She then served as the league's president for twenty-five years. During this time she promoted many concerts and commissioned many works. One of her protégés was

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

. Reis was a prolific author of many articles on music, two catalogs for the International Society for Contemporary Music, and the books ''Composers, Conductors and Critics'' in 1955 and ''Composers in America: Biographical Sketches'' in 1938; the latter is a valuable reference work which appeared in a second, enlarged edition in 1947 and was republished in 1977. Reis served on the board of directors of the New York City Center of Music and Drama. She also helped to found the Women's City Club and was a member of the board of the

Work Projects Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...

. She was on the advisory board for music of the

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. In 1969, Reis was awarded the

Handel Medallion The Handel Medallion is an American award presented by the City of New York. It is the city's highest award given to individuals for their contribution to the city's intellectual and cultural life. Establishment The award was first issued in 19 ...

by the City of New York for her contributions to the city's cultural life.

References

Handbook of Texas Online

External links

Letters to Claire Reis, 1926-1961
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

1888 births 1978 deaths American music educators American women music educators Writers from New York (state) People from Brownsville, Texas Classical musicians from Texas Educators from Texas {{US-music-bio-stub