William Andrew Farre (born William Johnsen, 1 August 1874 – April 5, 1950) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

musician, conductor, and composer. Farre was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

.''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': William Farre.
/ref> He directed a Salvation Army orchestra in Stavanger in 1895 and also played in a Salvation Army brass band. In 1901 he established the Møllergata School Band, the oldest

school band A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conductors (band directors). A school band consists of woodwind instruments, brass ...

in Norway.Norges eldste korps kan bli historie. 2012. ''NRK Super'' (1 February).
/ref>Brissbach, Ingrid J. 2006. Gatenavn: "Skolekorpsenes far." ''Adresseavisen'' (September 13).
/ref> Later he established the company "William Johnsens musikkforlag og utsalg" (William Johnsen Music Publishing and Sales) in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo). The company printed sheet music for school bands. Farre himself composed some of the music, including the march "Guttene kommer" (The Boys are Coming). His company planned to make sound recordings of over 100 Norwegian dialects, but went bankrupt after recording four dialects. Farre adopted the surname ''Farre'' in 1915. He died in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farre, William Norwegian violinists Norwegian male violinists Norwegian conductors (music) Norwegian male conductors (music) Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers Norwegian publishers (people) Musicians from Trondheim 1874 births 1950 deaths