Alfonso D'Artega (June 5, 1907 – January 20, 1998), often known simply as D'Artega, was a songwriter, conductor, arranger and actor. His song "

In the Blue of Evening "In the Blue of Evening" is a song by Al D'Artega and Tom Adair recorded by Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Band and released in 1943. It was subsequently re-recorded by Sinatra, but did not feature on a release until a 1993 reissue of the albu ...

", co-written with

Tom Adair Thomas Montgomery Adair (June 15, 1913 – May 24, 1988) was an American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter. Biography Adair was born on 15 June 1913, in Newton, Kansas, where his father owned a clothing store: he was the only child of Willi ...

, was a number one hit for the

Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

in 1943. D'Artega was born in

Silao Silao (), officially Silao de la Victoria, is a city in the west-central part of the state of Guanajuato in Mexico. It is the seat of the municipality with the same name. As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 147,123, making it the ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. His family emigrated to the U.S. in 1918. D'Artega studied music and composition at Strassberger's Conservatory in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

with Boris Levenson, who was a pupil of

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

. He became a well-known conductor on stage and on air, and in 1946 initiated the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

"Pops" concerts with members of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. In 1947 he played the role of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

in the film ''Carnegie Hall'', conducting the film score as well. He was guest conductor with, among others, the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orc ...

and the NBC Symphony of the Air. D'Artega wrote over 50 songs. Perhaps his most widely recognized composition in the U.S. is "The

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Chimes Theme". One of D'Artega's earlier ventures was D'Artega's All-Girl Orchestra, a twenty piece show band. The group was formed in New York City in 1942 and appeared in the Broadway play called "Hair Pin Harmony". As a result of that success, the group was booked by the newly formed United Service Organization (

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

) Camp Shows. The group traveled coast to coast playing at various military bases, ending in California where they were featured in the

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

release "You Can’t Ration Love". The All-Girl Orchestra continued with the USO and traveled throughout the European and Pacific theaters during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The first tour started in Italy and followed the advance of Allied troops into Germany, France, and Czechoslovakia. The orchestra continued service with the USO traveling to China, Japan, and islands in the Pacific. D'Artega was not only the inspiration, but wrote, arranged, and conducted the group.

External links

Gloria Parker Collection of Alfonso D'Artega Materials, 1942-2002
at the Library of Congress * * {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Artega, Alfonso American male composers Hispanic and Latino American musicians Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican composers Mexican male composers 1907 births 1998 deaths American musicians of Mexican descent 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians Musicians from Guanajuato