Harry Rogers Pratt (January 17, 1884 – May 7, 1956) was a professor of music and drama at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

from 1923 to 1954. Though he had no academic degree, he is credited with several accomplishments, including drawing the composer

Randall Thompson Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 – July 9, 1984) was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works. Career Randall attended The Lawrenceville School, where his father was an English teacher. He then attended Harvard University, ...

to the university and founding the Virginia Players.

Biography

Pratt was born in

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 ...

and studied music at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

before joining the University of Virginia faculty at the appointment of university president Edwin A. Alderman. He taught music and drama at Virginia and is credited with bringing Randall Thompson and

Stephen Tuttle Stephen Davidson Tuttle (May 4, 1907 – April 9, 1954) was a musicologist and chairman of the department of music at the University of Virginia (1941–1952), and an associate professor of music at Harvard University (1952–1954). While at Vi ...

to join the music faculty as an associate professor. Pratt, who directed the Virginia Glee Club from 1933 through 1943, was remembered as a director who had less polish than those who succeeded him, but who possessed great enthusiasm and who was responsible for bringing the Glee Club to national prominence through radio broadcasts and the group's first New York City performances. His work with the Virginia Players included a world premiere performance of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

's only play, ''

Politian Agnolo (Angelo) Ambrogini (14 July 1454 – 24 September 1494), commonly known by his nickname Poliziano (; anglicized as Politian; Latin: '' Politianus''), was an Italian classical scholar and poet of the Florentine Renaissance. His scho ...

''.

References

1884 births 1956 deaths Harvard University alumni People from Charlottesville, Virginia University of Virginia faculty {{US-academic-bio-stub