New England Conservatory of Music - Neume Yearbook (Boston, MA)

Page 13 text:

George W. Chadwick Director GEORGE WHITEFIELD CHADWICK, eminent composer, organist, con- ductor and educator, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, November 13, 1851. His organ-playing began at the age of fifteen. Attempts at compo- sition followed while he was still at school, but, despite this attention to music, he finished his course at the Lawrence High School, and for three years served as a clerk in his father ' s insurance office. During this time, with characteristic persever- ance, he laid the foundation for his professional career by attending the Conservatory in 1872 as a student, studying Theory with Dudley Buck and organ under George E. Whiting. He had now written two overtures for small orchestral and several piano trios. In 1876 he embraced an opportunity to teach pianoforte and harmony at Olivet College, Michigan, whence he went abroad to continue his studies at Leipzig and Munich (1877-79) under such masters as Jadassohn, Reinecke and Rhein- berger, where he composed continuously and won marked distinction. At Leipzig, he had two string quartets and an overture on the theme of Rip Van Winkle performed at the yearly examination. The latter piece made a profound impression on the European musicians who heard it. Their commendation was reported in Boston, and in December, 1879, the overture was given its first American presenta- tion in Boston at a concert of the Harvard Musical Association. Upon his return to Boston, Mr. Chadwick joined the Faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in 1881 as a teacher of harmony and composition, and in 1897 he became director, succeeding Mr. Carl Faelton. During his twenty- six years of service as director, the School has grown to be a great University of the Musical Arts. He has not only raised the standard in each department, but has impressed himself especially upon the work in composition and ensemble playing. From his orchestra of eighty members, many of his pupils have gone into orchestras elsewhere, some of them becoming conductors. Few American composers have won such high esteem. His works comprise symphonies, overtures, choral works, chamber music, operas and operettas, and about one hundred songs. Mr. Chad- wick ' s compositions are played by Symphony Orchestras perhaps more frequently than those of any other American composer, and he has served as guest-conductor with all the larger orchestras throughout the country. He is a representative of the Art of Music in the Academy of Arts and Letters, and such distinguished musicians as Frederick S. Converse, Wallace Goodrich, Henry Hadley, Dr. Horatio Parker, and Arthur Whiting have studied under him. He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Master of Arts by Yale in 1897, and LL.D. by Tufts College in 1905. Mr. Chadwick ' s genius has been to us a constant inspiration, while his kindly interest in each one of us and conscientious criticism of our progress have proved the surest guide to the perfection of our art. In expressing true loyalty and affec- tion, the Class of Nineteen Twenty-four unanimously subscribes itself.

Page 12 text:

GE RGE K . ClIADW K K Director

Page 14 text:

Wallace Goodrich Dean of the Faculty