Samuel Houston Mayes (August 11, 1917 – August 24, 1990), was an American cellist. Mayes was born in St. Louis, Missouri and began studying the cello from the age of four. When he turned 12 he went to Philadelphia where attended

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

under a direction of Felix Salmond, and later on, joined its Orchestra where he became the principal cellist in 1936. He held that position in 1948 at the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

till he returned to Philly by 1964. He joined

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

in 1973 abandoning Philadelphia one that way and the two years later became a faculty member at the University of Michigan. He was 79 years of age when he died in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

References

American cellists Musicians from St. Louis University of Michigan faculty 1911 births 1990 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians Classical musicians from Missouri 20th-century cellists {{US-classical-musician-stub