Theodore Ward Chanler (April 29, 1902 – July 27, 1961) was an American composer.

Early life

Chanler was born on April 29, 1902 in Newport, Rhode Island. He was a son of Major Winthrop Astor Chanler and Margaret Ward (née Terry) Chanler, an author and musician. Theodore's godfather was President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, who attended his christening in Newport in 1902. Though born in Newport, his family shortly moved to

Geneseo, New York Geneseo is a town in Livingston County in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. It is at the south end of the five-county Rochester Metropolitan Area. The population of the town was 10,483 at the 2010 census. The English name ...

where he grew up at the family estate, Sweet Briar Farms. His paternal grandparents were Margaret Astor (née Ward) Chanler (1838–1875), a member of the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...

, and

John Winthrop Chanler John Winthrop Chanler (September 14, 1826 – October 19, 1877) was a prominent New York lawyer and a U.S. Representative from New York. He was a member of the Dudley–Winthrop family and married Margaret Astor Ward, a member of the Astor famil ...

(1826–1877), a U.S. Representative from New York. His maternal grandparents were Louisa (née Ward) Crawford Terry and artist Luther Terry (d. 1900). His grandmother was a half-sister of F. Marion Crawford and a niece of

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

. Chanler studied piano while a youngster in Boston, and then studied piano under Buhling and counterpoint under Goetschius at the Institute of Musical Art in New York City. From 1920 to 1923, he studied at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...

, and between 1924 and 1927 in Europe (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, then Paris under

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 ...

Career

He became a music critic for the ''Boston Herald'' in 1934, and taught in Massachusetts in the 1940s and 1950s. He was also a regular contributor to the American magazine '' Modern Music''. Chanler's best-known works are his songs, which number about 50. He also composed a ballet, an opera (''The Pot of Fat'', 1955), choral pieces, works for chamber ensemble, and piano solo pieces. In 1940, he was awarded the League of Composers Town Hall Award for his song cycle, "Four Rhymes from Peacock Pie" and, in 1944, was the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship.

Teaching career

From 1945 to 1947, he was on the faculty of the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869), ...

in Baltimore. He also taught at the

Longy School of Music of Bard College Longy School of Music of Bard College is a private music school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915 as the Longy School of Music, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New En ...

in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Personal life

In Paris in 1931, Chanler was married to Maria Sargent (née de Acosta) (1880–1970), the daughter of Ricardo de Acosta. She was the sister of Aida de Acosta,

Mercedes de Acosta Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1892 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Although she failed to achieve artistic and professional distinction, de Acosta is known for her many lesbian affairs with celebrated Broadway and ...

, Rita de Acosta, and Mrs. Frederick Shaw of London. Maria previously was married to Andrew Robeson Sargent, the son of

Charles Sprague Sargent Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841 – March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He pub ...

. Maria and Andrew had a child together, Ignatius Sargent (1914–1999), who attended the Groton School and was a member of the class of 1937 at Harvard University. He married Frances Moffat in 1935. Chanler died at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on July 27, 1961.

References

;Notes ;Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Chanler, Theodore 1902 births 1961 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century classical composers Musicians from Newport, Rhode Island Alumni of the University of Oxford American music critics 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians Chanler family