Felix Weir (October 8, 1884 – 1978) was an active African-American violinist during the early 20th century. He was a prominent performer, winning recognition for his virtuosity at a young age. He studied at the

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicag ...

and the Conservatory at Leipzig, Germany (known today as the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest univ ...

). Weir was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, United States, to parents Charles L. and Frances Fowler Weir. He attended Chicago public schools and studied music at the

Chicago Conservatory of Music The Music Conservatory was founded in 1867 as the Chicago Musical College, a conservatory. In 1954, the Chicago Musical College became part of Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States ...

, where he won the Diamond medal when he graduated. In 1904, Weir traveled to Germany to study music. He had planned to stay up to three years, but his uncle, David Weir, the owner of a catering business in Chicago, died unexpectedly in 1905, and the family urged Felix to return home. Weir remained an active performer throughout his life, most actively in the 1920s and 1930s when he notably performed with the

Clef Club The Clef Club was an entertainment venue, society, and labour union for African-American musicians in Harlem, achieving its largest success in the 1910s. Incorporated by James Reese Europe, it was a combination musicians' hangout, fraternity club, ...

orchestras and in

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

musicals. He was concertmaster for the 1921 version of ''Shuffle Along'', the musical with book by F.E. Miller and

Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...

and music by

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...

and

Noble Sissle Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Ea ...

. Weir is particularly known for his collaboration with cellist Leonard Jeter (1881–1870) and eventually Jeter's sister Olyve, a pianist. In about 1914, Weir and Leonard Jeter founded the American String Quartet. Later, in 1920, Weir founded the Negro String Quartet, with Weir and Arthur Boyd as first and second violins,

Hall Johnson Francis Hall Johnson (March 12, 1888 – April 30, 1970) was an American composer and arranger of African-American spiritual music. He is one of a group—including Harry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Eva Jessye—who had great success per ...

playing viola, and Marion Combo playing the cello. The quartet played at venues around New York City, and was active until 1933. Weir was also a devoted teacher, teaching music and orchestra in public schools in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He retired from the city's Cardozo High School in 1942, and later lived with his son, Dr. Reginald Weir, tennis player and physician, and his son's family in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a bedroom community, bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the boro ...

References

Bibliography

* Southern, Eileen (1997). ''The Music of Black Americans''. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1884 births 1978 deaths American male violinists 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians Musicians from Chicago {{US-violinist-stub