Robert Sutton Whitney (July 9, 1904 – November 22, 1986) was an American

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and composer. He was a student of

Leo Sowerby Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid-20th century. His many s ...

. Robert Whitney was best known for founding, in November 1937, together with the mayor of

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Kentucky the

Louisville Orchestra The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney (1904–1986). The Louisville Orchestra employs salaried musicians, and offers a wide variety of concert series to the communit ...

, and becoming its first conductor, a post he held until 1967.Cox, Dwayne; Morison, William James (2000). . University Press of Kentucky. p. 119. . (Its original name was the "Louisville Civic Arts Association," which was later changed to the "Louisville Philharmonic Society." The orchestra finally adopted its current name after it filed an amendment to its articles of incorporation in 1977.) His concerto grosso had earlier (1934) been performed by the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

. Whitney also served as dean of the School of Music of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, from 1956 to 1971. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity. Whitney Hall, the largest performance venue in

The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky, which opened in 1983, is owned by Kentucky Performing Arts and has tenants that include Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet, the Louisville Orchestra, StageOne Family Theatre and ...

is named for him.

References

1904 births 1986 deaths American male conductors (music) University of Louisville faculty 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Music directors of the Louisville Orchestra {{US-conductor-stub