Julien Paul Blitz (May 21, 1885 – July 17, 1951) was an American
cellist
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
,
conductor, and teacher. He was the first
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 ...
of the
Houston Symphony.
Biography
Blitz was born in
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
, Belgium, the son of
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist and
martinist
Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual (if not inevitable) return, cal ...
Edouard E. Blitz (1860–1915) and
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
Mattie Louise Miller (1865–1904). He moved to the United States with his family at the age of two. He began violin studies with his father, who had been appointed the first music director of the
Kansas City Philharmonic. He commenced musical studies in 1901 at the
Ghent Conservatory, where he studied with
Paul-Henri-Joseph Lebrun, Joseph Lampens, Joseph Jacobs, Leon Rinskoph, and Edouard Jacobs. Blitz made his debut in 1904 and graduated from the conservatory in 1905.
Career
Blitz was engaged as a cellist in the Kursaal Orchestra in
Ostend
Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
, Belgium, then returned to the United States. He lived in New York City briefly, then accepted a position at
Baylor College in Belton, Texas.
In 1913, Blitz founded and became the first music director of the
Houston Symphony; he also directed activities of the Houston Treble Clef Club. Blitz's tenure in Houston lasted until 1916. From 1917 to 1922, he conducted the
San Antonio Symphony
The San Antonio Symphony was a full-time professional symphony orchestra based in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. Its season ran from late September to early June. Sebastian Lang-Lessing, its music director from 2010 to 2020, was the last to ser ...
. In San Antonio Blitz was also the director of the
Chaminade Choral Society of the Tuesday Musical Club. Subsequent positions held by Blitz include faculty positions at the San Antonio College of Music;
Austin College and
Kidd-Key College
Kidd-Key College was a college and music conservatory for women located in Sherman, Texas. The college was established in 1877 as the North Texas Female College, although its origins were in a private high school, the Sherman Male and Female High S ...
(where he was head of the
string
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
department), both in
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan area, Sherman–Denison metropolitan statist ...
; the Fort Worth Conservatory, and, from 1934 until 1950, head of the music department at Texas Technological College (later
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
) in Lubbock.
Blitz moved to Dallas in 1950, where he taught and coached music in the
public schools and performed as a guest cellist with the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District, Dallas, Arts District of downtown Dallas.
History
The orchestra tr ...
.
Personal life
Blitz was married to pianist Flora Briggs on January 24, 1921, and died in Dallas on July 17, 1951. The Blitzes had one child, Edouard Marquis Blitz, who became the assistant principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony.
References
Further reading
*
*
1885 births
1951 deaths
American male conductors (music)
Belgian classical cellists
Belgian emigrants to the United States
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American cellists
Music directors of the Houston Symphony
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