Lamar Edwin Stringfield (October 10, 1897 – January 21, 1959) was a classical composer, flutist, symphony conductor, and anthologist of American folk music.

Early career

He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and studied at

Mars Hill College Mars Hill University is a private Christian university in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The university offers 35 undergraduate majors and includes a school of nursing and graduate schools in education, criminal justice, and management. From 1859 to ...

near

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

and Wake Forest University before joining the army in 1916. In the service, he played with the 105th Engineers regimental band stationed in France during World War I. He studied composition in Paris with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

and later graduated with a diploma in flute performance from the

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 ...

(1924), having studied with

Georges Barrère Georges Barrère (Bordeaux, October 31, 1876 - New York, June 14, 1944) was a French flutist.Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001) Early life Georges Barrère was the son of a cabinetmaker, Gabriel Barrère, and Marie Périne Courtet, ...

. A highly respected flutist and composer of flute music, Stringfield was a founding officer of the New York Flute Club in 1920 along with William Kincaid (later principal flutist of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

) and Georges Barrère of the

New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, ...

(predecessor of the New York Philharmonic). The Club has featured the world's most prominent flutists in performance and other programs for over ninety years.

Conducting

Stringfield conducted orchestra concerts in Asheville beginning in the 1920s, organizing the predecessor to the

Asheville Symphony Orchestra The Asheville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The symphony's current conductor and Music Director is Darko Butorac who succeeded Daniel Meyer in 2018. History Lamar Stringfield organiz ...

for an exhibition concert in 1927. Stringfield won the Pulitzer Travelling Fellowship for his musical composition, ''From the Southern Mountains'' in 1928. He founded the

North Carolina Symphony The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Com ...

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

in 1932 serving as conductor until 1938. He was associate conductor at the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

for the 1938–1939 season, was appointed Music Director of the

Charlotte Symphony The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the central Carolinas , the Charlotte Symphony plays approximately 100 perfo ...

in 1945 and conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 1946, serving for only one season before returning to conduct the Charlotte Symphony for the 1948–1949 season. Guest conducting engagements included the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

(November 13, 1932),

United States Navy Band The United States Navy Band, based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., has served as the official musical organization of the U.S. Navy since 1925. The U.S. Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, performin ...

in 1936, the Miami Symphony, New York Civic and Festival Orchestras, in addition to numerous other regional orchestras.

Folk music and legacy

He had a deep interest in folk music, publishing a book of arrangements of Appalachian folk songs with

Bascom Lamar Lunsford Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 – September 4, 1973) was a folklorist, performer of traditional Appalachian music, and lawyer from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians." Biography ...

in 1929 and founding the Institute of Folk Music at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1930. Working closely with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Eliot Greene, he contributed music for ''

The Lost Colony The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in ...

'' (as of 2009, the United States' second longest running historical outdoor drama) in 1937 and four other works. The Lamar Stringfield papers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill included Stringfield's correspondence with

Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, ...

Percy Goetschius Percy Goetschius (August 10, 1853 – October 29, 1943) was an American music theorist and teacher who won international fame in the teaching of composition. Career Goetschius was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was encouraged by Ureli Corelli ...

, Edwin Franko Goldman,

Morton Gould Morton Gould (December 10, 1913February 21, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. Biography Morton Gould was born in Richmond Hill, New York, United States. He was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities ...

, Paul Green, Thor Johnson,

Geoffrey O'Hara Geoffrey O'Hara (February 2, 1882 – January 31, 1967) was a Canadian American composer, singer and music professor. Early life O'Hara was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He initially planned a military career. O'Hara entered the Royal Milit ...

Winfred Overholser Winfred Overholser (1892 – October 6, 1964) was an American psychiatrist, president of the American Psychiatric Association, and for 25 years the superintendent of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a federal institution for the mentally ill in Washington, ...

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway theatre, Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recordi ...

, John Powell, Howard Richardson,

Arthur Shepherd Arthur Shepherd (February 19, 1880 – January 12, 1958) was an American composer and conductor in the 20th century. Life and career Shepherd was born in Paris, Idaho, into a Mormon family. His family loved to sing and his father, William N. ...

, and Leopold Stokowski, in addition to many of his works."Lamar Stringfield papers, 1917–1959"
'University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stringfield, Lamar Mars Hill University alumni Wake Forest University alumni American classical flautists American male conductors (music) Musicians from Raleigh, North Carolina 1897 births 1959 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Appalachian music 20th-century American composers 20th-century American musicologists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century flautists