Gustav Stolpe ''(né'' Gustav Erik Stolpe; 26 September 1833 – 3 October 1901) was a

Swedish-American Swedish Americans () are Americans of Swedish descent. The history of Swedish Americans dates back to the early colonial times, with notable migration waves occurring in the 19th and early 20th centuries and approximately 1.2 million arrivi ...

composer, conductor, and performer.

Career

Gustav Stolpe was born in Torsåker Parish,

Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost and the most densely populated of the No ...

, Sweden. He held the degree of Musikdirektör (

Music Director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

) from the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

(now Royal College of Music in Stockholm). Gustav Stolpe is most frequently remembered as the composer of ''When Through the Torn Sail'' which was written with lyricist,

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican bishop, a man of letters, and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Anglican Diocese of Calcutta, Bishop of Calcutta until his de ...

.''When through the torn sail'' (Gustav Stolpe)
/ref> In 1882 Dr. Stolpe was named to the faculty of Augustana College, in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

, where he remained on the faculty for 11 years. In a typical week, he would teach seven organ lessons, six violin lessons, and ten vocal lessons. His work papers are included in the Manuscript Collections in the Thomas Tredway Library at Augustana College. In 1893, he founded Dr. Stolpe's Music Conservatory in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

, and headed it until 1897, when he left to become head of music at

Upsala College Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with the Swedish-American Augustana Synod (later the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and located in East Orange in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States, with an additiona ...

Kenilworth, New Jersey Kenilworth is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,427, an increase of 513 (+6.5%) from the 2010 United St ...

Legacy

Stolpe composed 38 operettas, 25 orchestral works, 25 pieces for brass band, and 25 piano solos.

Family

One of his sons, Rev. Dr. Johan Gustaf Mauritz Stolpe (1858–1938), had been the rector of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, at 155 East 22nd Street (between Lexington and Third Avenues), which in 1901, was the largest church of the denomination in the United States.

Death

Stolpe died October 3, 1901, in

. At the time of his death, he was head of music at

References

Sources

Gustav Erik Stolpe biography
on the Augustana College website * Olson, Ernst W. ''The Swedish Element In Illinois Survey Of The Past Seven Decades'' (Chicago: Swedish-American Biographical Association. 1917)

External links

* 1833 births 1902 deaths People from Hofors Municipality Swedish composers Swedish male composers Swedish conductors (music) Swedish male conductors (music) 19th-century Swedish people Swedish emigrants to the United States Augustana College (Illinois) faculty 19th-century male musicians {{Sweden-composer-stub