Robert Edward Kreutz (March 21, 1922 – April 7, 1996) was an American composer of
Roman Catholic liturgical worship music.
Life and career
He was born in
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...
. His paternal grandfather John Kreutz (originally ''Jan Kříž'') was born in the Czech village
Pístina.
Robert's second cousin was the composer
Arthur R. Kreutz.
Kreutz graduated from
Aquinas High School in 1940. Robert Kreutz studied music at the
American Conservatory of Music in
Chicago, Illinois and at the
University of California-Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. He was best known for the Eucharistic hymn: ''Gift of Finest Wheat'' which was first performed at the
International Eucharistic Congress in 1976, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kreutz also wrote many other hymns including "Bread of Love", "Rise, O Lord" and others. He was an accomplished choir director at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in
Lakewood, Colorado for more than 30 years.
Kreutz and his wife, Evelyn had nine children. They had three boys: Mark, Scott, and Robert and six girls: Mary, Karen, Gina, Terri, Jackie, and Jill.
References
Robert Kreutz Biography*'Aquinas Report', Aquinas High School, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 'Grad's music heralds 3 Papal visits Robert Kreutz leaves legacy of music including Gifts of Finest Wheat, written by Laura Pavela, class of 1999, Summer, 1996, pg. 8.
External links
Robert KreutzThe Published Works of Robert Kreutz
1922 births
1996 deaths
People from La Crosse, Wisconsin
Aquinas High School (La Crosse, Wisconsin) alumni
Musicians from Wisconsin
American male composers
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
American people of Czech descent
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