Norman Luboff
Encyclopedia
Norman Luboff was an American
music arranger
, music publisher, and choir director
.
. Luboff studied at the University of Chicago
and Central College
in Chicago. Following this, he did graduate work with the composer Leo Sowerby
while singing and writing for radio programs in Chicago. In the mid-1940s, Luboff moved to New York City
.
, a radio weekly starring Gordon MacRae
, Luboff began a successful career scoring many television programs and more than eighty motion pictures. He also recorded with artists such as Bing Crosby
, Frank Sinatra
, Jo Stafford
, and Doris Day
.
and Waldemar Ahlen. Walton Music exists today as a major choral music publisher, under the guidance of Luboff's widow, Gunilla Marcus-Luboff, a former Swedish television producer.
.
, North Carolina
in 1987. The Norman Luboff Collection was donated to the Music Division of the United States Library of Congress in 1993 by his widow.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
music arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, music publisher, and choir director
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
.
Early years
Norman Luboff was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. He studied piano as a child and participated in his high school chorusChoir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. Luboff studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and Central College
Central College
Central College is a private liberal arts college located in Pella, Iowa. It is a four-year school affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. Central has a student body of approximately 1,600 undergraduates and a main campus...
in Chicago. Following this, he did graduate work with the composer Leo Sowerby
Leo Sowerby
Leo Sowerby , American composer and church musician, was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946, and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid 20th century.-Biography:...
while singing and writing for radio programs in Chicago. In the mid-1940s, Luboff moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
TV and movies
With a call from Hollywood to be choral director of The Railroad HourThe Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentrating on those written before 1943. Singer-actor Gordon...
, a radio weekly starring Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
, Luboff began a successful career scoring many television programs and more than eighty motion pictures. He also recorded with artists such as Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Jo Stafford
Jo Stafford
Jo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
, and Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
.
Publishing Company
In 1950, he established Walton Music Corporation, to publish his music. Luboff provided a vehicle for composers in Sweden to have their works available in the United States, including Egil HovlandEgil Hovland
Egil Hovland is a Norwegian composer.Hovland was born in Råde. He studied at the Oslo conservatory with Arild Sandvold and Bjarne Brustad, in Copenhagen with Vagn Holmboe, in Tanglewood with Aaron Copland, and in Florence with Luigi Dallapiccola. He has been the organist and choir leader in...
and Waldemar Ahlen. Walton Music exists today as a major choral music publisher, under the guidance of Luboff's widow, Gunilla Marcus-Luboff, a former Swedish television producer.
Norman Luboff Choir
Luboff was the founder and conductor of the Norman Luboff Choir, one of the leading choral groups of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The choral group toured yearly from 1963 to 1987, and recorded more than seventy-five albums. The holiday albums Songs of Christmas (1956) and Christmas with the Norman Luboff Choir (1964) were perennial bestsellers for years. Luboff and his choir won the 1961 Grammy Award for Best Performance by a ChorusGrammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
The Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus was awarded from 1961 to 1968. In its first year, the award specified that a "chorus" contains seven or more artists. This award was presented alongside the award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group...
.
Death
Norman Luboff died of lung cancer at his home in BynumBynum, North Carolina
Bynum is an unincorporated community in northeastern Chatham County, North Carolina, United States on the banks of the Haw River. Bynum is three miles north of Pittsboro, North Carolina and 9 miles south of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is also known as Bynum Mill Village or Bynum Mill Hill....
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in 1987. The Norman Luboff Collection was donated to the Music Division of the United States Library of Congress in 1993 by his widow.
External links
- Walton Music website
- Link to a Noman Luboff Choir Discography: http://www.akh.se/luboff/center.htm