Donald Voorhees (July 26, 1903– January 10, 1989)Flint, Peter B

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 11, 1989. Accessed September 18, 2017. "Donald Voorhees, for 28 years the conductor and musical director of the ''Bell Telephone Hour,'' one of the most popular musical programs in broadcasting history, died of pneumonia yesterday at Tomlin Memorial Hospital in Cape May Court House, N.J. He was 85 years old and lived in Stone Harbor, N.J." was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor who received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, ''

The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...

''.

Career

Starting in 1926, Voorhees' orchestra recorded prolifically for Columbia, Edison,

Pathe Pathe or Pathé may refer to: * Pathé, a French company established in 1896 * Pathé Exchange, U.S. division of the French film company that was spun off into an independent entity * Pathé News, a French and British distributor of cinema news ...

, Perfect, Cameo, and

Hit of the Week Hit of the Week was an American record label founded in 1930 that sold low-priced records made of Durium instead of the usual shellac. History Around 1930, several types of thin, flexible records made of various plastic formulations were introduc ...

, playing the piano in early recordings. His recording career mostly ended in 1931, when he approached the bigger opportunities radio offered at the time. His first broadcast work was NBC's ''The Texaco Fire Chief Show'', which starred comedian Ed Wynn. Other of the programs he worked for was the ''Maxwell House Showboat'', appearing in a 1933 "picturization", the short ''Captain Henry's Show Boat''. From 1935 to 1941, and from 1949 to 1953 (with Ardon Cornwell), Voorhees was the musical director and conductor for the radio and television show, ''

Cavalcade of America ''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially ...

''. Voorhees also served as conductor of the ''Bell Telephone Hour'' orchestra for 26 years, from its first broadcasts on

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

in 1942 until its final

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

episode in 1968. He was nominated for an

in 1966 for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the series. He was also the first conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. Voorhees served as conductor and musical director of the orchestra from its inception in 1951 until 1983. A resident of Stone Harbor, New Jersey, Voorhees died of pneumonia at the age of 85 on January 10, 1989, in

Cape May Court House, New Jersey Cape May Court House is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Voorhees, Donald 1903 births 1989 deaths American people of Dutch descent American male conductors (music) Musicians from Allentown, Pennsylvania 20th-century American conductors (music) People from Stone Harbor, New Jersey Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians William Allen High School alumni