Jean Berger (; September 27, 1909 – May 28, 2002) was a German-born American pianist, composer, and music educator. He composed extensively for choral ensemble and solo voice.

Early years

Berger was born Arthur Schloßberg into a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish family in Hamm,

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. He studied musicology at the universities of

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and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, where he received his Ph.D. in 1931 with

Heinrich Besseler Heinrich Besseler (April 2, 1900 – July 25, 1969) was a German musicologist born in Hörde. He is particularly known for his colossal work, ''Die Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance'' (1931), which provided a new perspective on historical m ...

as his advisor. He also studied composition with

Louis Aubert Louis François Marie Aubert (19 February 1877 – 9 January 1968) was a French composer. Biography Born in Paramé, Ille-et-Vilaine, Louis Aubert was a child prodigy. His parents, recognizing their son's musical talent, sent him to Paris to rec ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

. While working as the assistant conductor at an opera house in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, he was forcibly removed from a rehearsal by

Brown Shirts The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ralli ...

.Milken Archive of Jewish Music
Jean Berger
Accessed 2013-03-04. After the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

seized power in Germany in 1933, he moved to Paris, where he took the French name Jean Berger and toured widely as a pianist and accompanist. From 1939 to 1941, he was an assistant conductor at the Municipal Theater in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

and on the faculty of the Brazilian Conservatory. He also toured widely throughout South America. In 1941, he moved to the United States and served in the U.S. Army starting in 1942. In 1943, he became a US citizen. He worked in the Office of War Information producing foreign-language broadcasts and USO shows until 1946. From 1946 to 1948, he worked as an arranger 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 Entertainm ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and toured as a concert accompanist.Guide to the Jean Berger Collection Housed in the American Music Research Center University of Colorado Music Library
. Accessed 2012-02-29Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies
. Accessed March 4, 2013.

Academic career

In 1948 Berger moved into the academic world, taking a faculty position at Middlebury College in

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History On ...

, which he held until 1959. From 1959 to 1961, he was on the faculty of the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

. From 1961 to 1966, he taught at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

and then the Colorado Women's College in

Denver 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 ...

from 1968 to 1971. From 1970 on, he lectured widely throughout the world on various aspects of American music.

Major works

Three of Berger's pieces have become standards in the choral repertoire: "A Rose Touched by the Sun's Warm Rays", "Alleluia" from ''Brazilian Psalm'', and "The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee". Other works include: * ''Short Overture for Strings'' * ''Five Canzonets'' * ''Three Ayres'' * ''Magnificat'' * ''Hope for Tomorrow'', set to words spoken by

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, during the third month (February 1956) of the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...

Personal life

Berger was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity. He died in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in ...

, of a brain tumor at the age of 92."Jean Berger," in Obituaries. Silver and Gold June 20, 2002

References

External links

June 25, 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Jean 1909 births 2002 deaths People from Hamm American male classical composers American classical composers American classical pianists American male pianists German classical composers German male classical composers German classical pianists University of Colorado Boulder faculty German emigrants to the United States Heidelberg University alumni University of Vienna alumni Middlebury College faculty University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Jewish American classical composers American people of German-Jewish descent 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century German musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews