Frank Heino Damrosch was a German-born American music conductor and educator.

Biography

He was born on June 22, 1859 in Breslau, and came to the United States with his father, Leopold Damrosch

Leopold Damrosch

Leopold Damrosch was a German American orchestral conductor.- Biography :Damrosch was born in Posen , Kingdom of Prussia, and began his musical education at the age of nine, learning the violin against the wishes of his parents, who wanted him to become a doctor...

, and brother, Walter Damrosch in 1871. He had studied music in Germany under Dionys Pruckner

Dionys Pruckner

Dionys Pruckner was a noted pianist and music teacher at Stuttgart. He was a student of Franz Liszt and did concert tours throughout Europe. In 1859 he was appointed to the faculty of the Stuttgart Conservatory.-Sources:Obituary: Dionys Pruckner...

. He studied in New York under Ferdinand von Inten. He also studied in Europe under Moritz Moszkowski

Moritz Moszkowski

Moritz Moszkowski was a German Jewish composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish descent. Ignacy Paderewski said, "After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano"...

.

He originally intended to adopt a business career, and to that end went to Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, but the musical impulse proved too strong, and in 1884 he was an organist, conductor of the Denver Chorus Club, and supervisor of music in the public schools

Public education

State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

.

For some years he was chorus master at the Metropolitan Opera House

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 in New York. He also conducted the Mendelssohn Glee Club

Mendelssohn Glee Club

The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, founded in 1866, is the oldest glee club not associated with a university in the United States. An early men's glee club that traveled up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States, the Mendelssohn helped to popularize classical music before...

 from 1885 to 1887. In 1892 he organized the People's Singing Classes, and he was also instrumental in founding the Musical Art Society of New York.

In 1897 he became supervisor of music in the public schools in New York. As director of the New York Institute of Musical Art, Damrosch was among the foremost musical educators in America. In 1924, the Institute of Musical Art merged with the Juilliard Graduate School to form what in 1946 was renamed the Juilliard School

Juilliard School

The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...

 of Music. In 1898 Damrosch also succeeded his brother Walter

Walter Johannes Damrosch

Walter Johannes Damrosch was a German-born American conductor and composer. He is best remembered today as long-time director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and for conducting the world premiere performances of George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F , and An American in Paris .- Biography...

 as conductor of the Oratorio Society

Oratorio Society

Oratorio Society may refer to:*Oratorio Society of Baltimore*Oratorio Society of Charlottesville-Albemarle*Oratorio Society of Chicago*Hong Kong Oratorio Society*Jakarta Oratorio Society*Laurel Oratorio Society*Oratorio Society of Minnesota...

, which he directed until 1912. Damrosch Park, part of New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...

, is named in honor of the Damrosch family.

Damrosch died in New York City on October 22, 1937.

External links