Edwin Arthur Kraft (January 8, 1883 - July 15, 1962) was an American organist and choir-director.

Biography

Kraft was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

on January 8, 1883. At age 15 he became organist at New Haven's Grace Methodist Church, and soon after became organist and choirmaster at the Church of the Ascension. He studied music at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

under

Horatio Parker Horatio William Parker (September 15, 1863 – December 18, 1919) was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the undergradu ...

and

Harry Jepson Harry Jepson (4 February 1920 – 29 August 2016) was an English rugby league administrator and president of Leeds Rhinos. Early life Born in Hunslet, Leeds, Jepson was educated at Cockburn High School and subsequently worked for Leeds City C ...

before becoming became the organist at St. Thomas's Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. He then went to Europe for three years, studying organ with Grunicke and

Edgar Stillman Kelley Edgar Stillman Kelley (April 14, 1857 – November 12, 1944) was an American composer, conductor, teacher, and writer on music. He is sometimes associated with the Indianist movement in American music. Life Kelley was of New England stock, his ...

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 ...

and

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

and

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Upon returning to the US he took the position as organist of St. Matthew's Church in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

. In 1907 he was chosen from among 90 applicants as the organist of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, and gave the dedicatory performance of its new

Skinner Organ Co. Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866– ...

pipe organ. In 1914 he moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to work as municipal organist but he returned to Trinity Cathedral the following year. Kraft also served as director of music at

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. As of the 2016–2017 Academic term, academic year, ...

and as head of the organ department at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...

. He finally retired from his position at the cathedral in 1959. He died on July 15, 1962 and was buried in the Mausoleum of

Knollwood Cemetery Knollwood Cemetery is a cemetery located at 1678 SOM Center Road in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Established in 1908, it is one of the largest cemeteries in Cuyahoga County. A mausoleum was completed in 1926, and an expansion finished in 1959. The ceme ...

. He married Nancy Lovis in December 1909 and had three children, Nanette, Margaret, and Edwin Arthur, Jr. The year after his wife's death in 1925 Kraft married his second wife, mezzo-soprano Marie Simmelink. He was a fellow of the

American Guild of Organists The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educati ...

References

External links

Kraft's transcription of Tchaikovsky's ''1812'' overture

Kraft's transcription of Saint-Saëns' Cantabile from Samson and Dalila

Kraft's transcription of Rachmaninoff's Serenade, op. 3
1883 births 1962 deaths American classical organists American male organists Cleveland Institute of Music faculty Pupils of Horatio Parker Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Yale University alumni Lake Erie College faculty Pupils of Charles-Marie Widor Burials at Knollwood Cemetery 20th-century organists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical musicians Male classical organists {{organist-stub