John O'Neill Gerrish (August 14, 1910 – November 29, 2010) was an American composer of the 20th century, best known for ''The Falcon'', a cappella piece for SATB based on the Middle or Early Modern English

Corpus Christi Carol The Corpus Christi Carol or Falcon Carol is a Middle or Early Modern English hymn (or carol), first written down by an apprentice grocer named Richard Hill between 1504 and 1536. The original writer of the carol remains anonymous. The earliest ...

Early life

Gerrish was the son of Charles Percy Gerrish and Mary Elizabeth O'Neill of

Potsdam, New York Potsdam ( moh, Tsi tewate’nehtararénies) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 13676. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the popul ...

. He graduated from

Crane School of Music The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Crane consists of approximately 630 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a faculty o ...

in 1930, and led a dance band during the 1930s. He taught for ten years at Franklin Academy in Malone, New York and was a professor of music at

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as th ...

in New Jersey for most of his career.

Music

In addition to ''The Falcon'', Gerrish's better-known works include ''Variations on a Burgundian Carol for 3 Recorders'', based on the carol

Patapan "Patapan" (or "Pat-a-pan") is a French Christmas carol in Burgundian dialect, later adapted into English. It was written by Bernard de La Monnoye (1641–1728) and first published in ''Noël bourguignons'' in 1720. Its original title is "Guillô, ...

, published in New York by Associated Music Publishers in 1957. Reviewer, Joel Newman, called the work "neatly-constructed, fun-to-play, but merely-cute variations." Other published compositions include ''Why do the Bells of Christmas Ring?'' (1952) a cappella choir, '' I Sing A Maiden'' (1953), ''Fifteen Christmas melodies'' for soprano recorder and piano (1954), and the piano solos ''Country Dance'', ''Mountain Climbing'' and ''South Wind'' (1954). The ''Music Educators Journal'' published a detailed article and interview "A Family Program for Voices, Recorders, and Viols: The Gerrish Family" in 1962. The

New York State Teachers Association The New York State Teachers Association (NYSTA) was an association of teachers in the state of New York (state), New York, United States, founded in 1845. It assisted teachers in their professional career, provided a public voice for its members on ...

, Northern Zone, lists John Gerrish as Chairman of Music Section in Malone, New York, September 29, 1939.''Music Educators Journal,'' Vol. 26, No. 1 (Sep., 1939), pp. 70-72

Personal life

Gerrish married twice. After the death of his first wife, Marion Benham of

Saranac Lake Saranac Lake may refer to: * Saranac Lake, New York, a village in the northern Adirondacks *One of the three nearby Saranac Lakes, part of the Saranac River: **Upper Saranac Lake **Middle Saranac Lake **Lower Saranac Lake Note: There is no lake nam ...

, he married Claire Stackpole of Winooski. Following his retirement, Gerrish was the organist at the Winooski United Methodist Church for twenty years. He died on November 29, 2010, and is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery, Potsdam.

References

American male composers American composers Crane School of Music alumni 1910 births 2010 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians {{US-composer-20thC-stub