Carl Zerrahn (28 July 1826

Malchow Malchow () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Geography It is situated on the river Elde, 25,5 km we ...

, Mecklenburg-Schwerin – 29 December 1909

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

) was a

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-born

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flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and conductor. His widespread activity in the region made him an influential figure in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

classical music, especially choral music, in the latter half of the 19th century. He was especially successful in the presentation of the great oratorios and the management of large choruses.

Biography

He began the study of music in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

at the age of twelve years, and completed his education in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

motivated him to leave

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, and with 25 others he organized The Germania Musical Society and went to the

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, giving concerts in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on the way. Zerrahn played first flute. The group reached

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in September 1848 and gave successful concerts in New York and Brooklyn which were followed by others in

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, and

. They appeared for five or six years with Jenny Lind,

Henriette Sontag Henriette Sontag, born Gertrude Walpurgis Sontag, and, after her marriage, entitled Henriette, Countess Rossi (3 January 1806 – 17 June 1854), was a German operatic soprano of great international renown. She possessed a sweet-toned, lyrical voi ...

, Ole Bull,

Sigismund Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family He was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. According to his own account, he ...

Alfred Jaëll Alfred Jaëll (5 March 183227 February 1882) was an Austrian pianist. His students included Benjamin Johnson Lang and Samuel Sanford (the eponym of the Sanford Medal). Life He was born in Trieste, then in the Austrian Empire. He studied under Car ...

Camilla Urso Camilla Urso (13 June 1840Pierre 1900p. 862 Other sources give her year of birth as 1842. – 20 January 1902) was a French-born child prodigy violinist, who became an American musician, "recognized as one of the finest violinists of the latter h ...

, and other artists, disbanding in 1854 after giving 800 concerts during its career. Houghton AB85

Zerrahn settled in

at the conclusion of the tour. From 1855 until 1863 he conducted a Boston “Philharmonic,” one of several orchestras going by that name at that time. Beginning in 1865, he led concerts for the Harvard Musical Association until the concerts were discontinued in 1882. He conducted the

Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...

1854-1895, and he directed the

Worcester Music Festival Worcester Music Festival is an annual music festival held in more than 20 venues throughout the city centre of Worcester, England every September. It was founded in 2008 by Chris Bennion as a platform to encourage live, local and original mu ...

in Massachusetts for thirty years as well, 1866-1897. He was elected conductor of the Oratorio Society of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

in 1868, and conducted choral societies in St. Johnsbury, Vermont,

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...

, and other places. He directed the choral forces for

Patrick Gilmore Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, Gilmor ...

National Peace Jubilee The National Peace Jubilee was a celebration that commemorated the end of the American Civil War, organized by Patrick Gilmore in Boston from June 15-19, 1869. It featured an orchestra and a chorus, as well as numerous soloists. More than 11,000 p ...

of 1869 and the

World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival The World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival of 1872 took place in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Fr ...

of 1872. In 1869, this amounted to a chorus of 10,000; in 1872 the chorus was twice that size though in the latter case the results were not entirely satisfactory. He taught singing, harmony and composition at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

until 1898, when he retired. Among the journals he edited were ''The Index'', ''The Apograph'', ''The Atlas'', and ''Carl Zerrahn's Selections''.

Notes

References

* *
New York Times obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zerrahn, Carl 1826 births 1909 deaths People from Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district) People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American flautists German-American Forty-Eighters New England Conservatory faculty 19th-century male musicians