Milton Preves (June 18, 1909 in

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– June 11, 2000 in Glenview,

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) was a

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, conductor and

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. He was a member of the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra 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 tenu ...

for 52 years, of which 47 years were as principal violist. Preves attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. In 1931, he joined the Little Symphony—a Chicago Symphony training ground—and was promoted to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1934. He became principal violist in 1939, which position he held until he retired from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1986. He played under the batons of all the Chicago Symphony's conductors, up until

Sir Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

, except for the Chicago Symphony's founder, Theodore Thomas. Preves was a founding member of the Chicago String Quartet, as well as the music director for

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's North Side Symphony for 26 years. Besides playing the viola, he was a conductor with the Oak Park-River Forest, Wheaton, and Gary symphonies, as well as the Gold Coast Chamber Orchestra. He was also a part of the music faculty at a number of universities:

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

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, and

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. In 1963, he resigned as conductor of the Oak Park-River Forest orchestra, because Carol Anderson, a talented

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female violinist whom Preves had recruited for the symphony, was pressured to resign because of her race. The president of the orchestra quickly apologized, and urged Preves to continue to conduct the group. He did not return for 25 years and when he did, it was only to play as a soloist with the orchestra. Ernest Bloch dedicated his ''Meditation and Processional'' to Milton Preves. Preves taught many students, some of whom continue to teach, passing down his style.

References

* 1909 births 2000 deaths University of Chicago alumni Roosevelt University faculty Northwestern University faculty DePaul University faculty American classical violists American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians {{violist-stub