Frank Heino Damrosch (June 22, 1859 – October 22, 1937) was a German-born American music conductor and educator. In 1905, Damrosch founded the New York Institute of Musical Art, a predecessor of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

Life and career

Damrosch was born on June 22, 1859 in Breslau,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, the son of Helene von Heimburg, a former opera singer, and conductor

Leopold Damrosch Leopold Damrosch (October 22, 1832 – February 15, 1885) was a German American orchestral conductor and composer. Biography Damrosch was born in Posen (Poznań), Kingdom of Prussia, the son of Heinrich Damrosch. His father was Jewish and his m ...

. He came to the United States with his father, brother, conductor

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Geo ...

, and sister, music teacher

Clara Mannes Clara Mannes (born Clara Damrosch; 12 December 1869, Breslau, Silesia – 16 March 1948, New York City) was a German-born American musician and music educator. She and her brother Frank Damrosch also taught at the Veltin School for Girls in Manha ...

, in 1871. His parents were Lutheran (his paternal grandfather was Jewish). He had studied music in Germany under

Dionys Pruckner Dionys Pruckner (12 May 1834 München – 1 December 1896 Heidelberg) was a noted pianist and music teacher at Stuttgart. He was a student of Franz Liszt from 1852 until about 1855 who did concert tours throughout Europe. In 1859 he was appointed ...

. He studied in New York under Ferdinand von Inten. He also studied in Europe under

Moritz Moszkowski Moritz Moszkowski (23 August 18544 March 1925) was a German Confederation, German composer, pianist, and teacher of History of Jews in Poland, Polish-Jewish descent.

. He originally intended to adopt a business career, and to that end went to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, but the musical impulse proved too strong, and in 1884 he was an organist, conductor of the Denver Chorus Club, and supervisor of music in the public schools. For some years he was chorus master at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. He also conducted the

Mendelssohn Glee Club The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, founded in 1866, is the oldest surviving independent musical group in the United States after the New York Philharmonic. Their concerts, given in very high-society settings, featured the new (to America ...

from 1885 to 1887. In 1892 he organized the People's Singing Classes, and he was also instrumental in founding the Musical Art Society of New York. In 1897 he became supervisor of music in the public schools in New York. In 1898 Damrosch succeeded his brother

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

as conductor of the Oratorio Society, which he directed until 1912. During his career, he and his sister Clara Damrosch also taught at the

Veltin School for Girls Veltin School for Girls was a private school founded by Louise Veltin in 1886 in Manhattan, New York. Veltin and Isabelle Dwight Sprague Smith were the school's principals. The school was initially located at 175 West 73rd Street, but moved in 18 ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 1905 he founded and became director of the

New York Institute of Musical Art The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...

, with the hopes of reproducing the quality of instruction found in European conservatories. In 1926, the Institute of Musical Art merged with the Juilliard Graduate School to form what is today

. Damrosch's pupils included William Howland, long-time head of the music department at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and the prodigy pianist

Hazel Scott Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representat ...

. Damrosch died in New York City on October 22, 1937. Damrosch Park, part of New York's

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, is named in honor of the Damrosch family.

References

* This article contains text from a work now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Damrosch, Frank 1859 births 1937 deaths American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American people of German-Jewish descent German emigrants to the United States People from the Province of Silesia Presidents of the Juilliard School