Helen Searles Westbrook (October 15, 1889 – 1967) was an American composer and organist who appeared with Chicago Symphony.

Life

Westbrook began organ lessons at age eleven with her mother, who was also an organist. Westbrook then studied with Arthur Dunham, Frank van Dusen, Wilhelm Middleschutte and

Adolf Weidig Adolf H. A. Weidig (b. 28 November 1867 Hamburg, Germany; d. 23 September 1931) was an American composer who was born and raised in Hamburg. After extensive musical studies in Europe, including at the Academy of Music, Munich,< ...

at the

American Conservatory The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''. History When the United States entered First World War the commander of its army, Gener ...

, where she received a gold medal, as well as a young American Artists award. She married James Westbrook. Westbrook was a theatre organist in Chicago. She also played with the

Chicago Opera Company The Chicago Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago City Opera Company, that produced six seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1940 to 1946 (excluding 1943). Artis ...

under

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...

, as an organ soloist with

Chicago Symphony The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

, and on a

WGN radio WGN (720 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM radio, AM radio station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, with radio studio, studios on the 18th floor of 303 East Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WGN has a talk radio, news/talk format, ...

program for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

which used her compositions "Dusk at Friendship Lake" and "Retrospection" as the program's theme songs. She was the music director at Central Church in Chicago. Westbrook was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

) and the Chicago Club of Women Organists. She helped manage the Club's "Florence B. Price Organ Composition Contest" in 1954. Through Replica Records, Westbrook released at least one 33 rpm recording ("Helen's Holiday"), as well as three 45 rpm recordings with

Cecil Roy Cecil H. Roy (October 2, 1900 – January 26, 1995) was an American radio actress who was well known in radio broadcasting of the 1930s and 1940s as The Girl of a Thousand Voices.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biograph ...

and Betty Barrie: 1) Buddy's Butterfly 2) The Thistle/Buddy's Garden 3) Christmas Eve/Plasco Toys.

Compositions

Westbrook's compositions include:

Organ

* ''Andante Religioso'' * ''Chanson Triste'' * ''Concert Piece in D'' * ''Dusk at Friendship Lake'', used as the theme song to her radio program. * ''Here Comes Santa Claus '' * Intermezzo * ''Laughing Sprites'' * Lento * ''Melodie'' * ''Menuett in Olden Style'' * ''On the Ontonagon River'' * ''Pastorale Scherzo'' * ''Poem for Autumn'' * ''Retrospection'', used as the theme song to her radio program. * ''Waltz Circe''

Vocal

* ''Alabaster'' * ''Christ My Refuge'' (text by

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning s ...

) * ''Hindu Cradle Song'' * ''If You Call Me'' * ''Invincible'' (text by Sarojini Naidu) * ''Magnificat'' (text by Helene Grossenbacher) * ''March Beside Him, Lord'' * ''Music I Heard With You'' (text by Conrad Aiken) * ''Six Indian Songs'' * ''Solace'' (text by Josephine Hancock Logan) * ''Wedding Prayer'' (text by Curt A. Mundstock)

References

External links

*
Chikago Women Organists / Guests of Helen Westbrook
''The Diapason'', 1 January 1945, p. 7 {{DEFAULTSORT:Westbrook, Helen Searles American women classical composers American classical composers American organists 1889 births 1967 deaths