Wayne Crouse (16 December 1924 - 19 May 2000) was the

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

and principal violist of the

Oklahoma City Philharmonic The Oklahoma City Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History As is the case with many American symphony orchestras, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic owes a degree of its heritage to two predecessor professi ...

from 1982 until his death from cancer at the age of 75. During the war he served in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Crouse graduated from the

Juilliard 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 elit ...

School in 1951, where he studied with

Milton Katims Milton Katims (June 24, 1909February 27, 2006) was an American violist and conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony for 22 years (1954–76). In that time he added more than 75 works, made recordings, premiered new pieces and le ...

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman. Biography Galamian w ...

, and

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lodg ...

. In his debut Juilliard concert, he played the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, but he was encouraged to switch to the viola. He served as the principal violist of the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

for 28 of his 32 years there, during which he performed the Walton Viola Concerto under the direction of

Sir William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade (entertainmen ...

three times in January 1969. Crouse was also violist in the Lyric Art Quartet at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, the Virtuoso Quartet, and the Shepherd Quartet at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

, where he taught for some time. Later in his life, he taught at

and was the principal violist of the

. The new Wayne Crouse Quartet, a student performance group that was formed in his honor, was in residence at the University of Houston beginning in Fall 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouse, Wayne American classical violists Musicians from Oklahoma City Juilliard School alumni University of Oklahoma faculty University of Houston faculty Rice University faculty 1924 births 2000 deaths Musicians from Houston 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians Classical musicians from Texas 20th-century violists