John Robert Sommers Armbruster (October 9, 1897 – June 20, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, pianist and songwriter. He also recorded piano rolls under the pseudonyms of: Henri Bergman, Edwin Gabriel, Robert Romayne, Robert Summers.The Billings Rollography: Pianists Ginny Billings, Bob Billings - 1990 p36 "Henri Bergman, Edwin Gabriel, Robert Romayne, Robert Summers (Rolls listed under pseudonyms) Robert Armbruster was born in Philadelphia in 1896, and received his ..."

Biography

Armbruster was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. When he was 8 years old, Armbruster began performing professionally in Philadelphia. After studying with he became a concert pianist, then branched out into conducting and a composing for radio, then television and film. He debuted as a pianist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of eight. In his teenage years, he started recording piano rolls for the Aeolian Company's

Duo-Art Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of th ...

reproducing pianos and turned out hundreds of classical and salon-type performances for them. He attracted particular notice as orchestra leader of ''

The Voice of Firestone ''The Voice of Firestone'' was a radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled ''The Firestone Hour'', it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network ...

'', the songs "Cuddle Up" and "High Barbaree" and his compositions "Western Ballet" and "Variations in Miniature on Chopsticks". During the 1940s, Armbruster was the conductor of the NBC Hollywood Orchestra for many charitable specials. Other radio programs on which he worked included ''Blue Ribbon Time'', '' Blue Ribbon Town'', ''The Cass Daley Show'', ''

Cavalcade of America ''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially ...

'', ''The Charlie McCarthy Show'', ''Coronet on the Air'', ''Cousin Willie'',, ''

The Cuckoo Hour ''The Cuckoo Hour '', also known as ''The KUKU Hour'' and ''The Raymond Knight Cuckoo Hour'', is an American musical variety radio series created by radio comedian Raymond Knight. It aired on the NBC Blue Network January 1, 1930–March 9, 1936.H ...

'', '' A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'', '' The Electric Hour'', ''

The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built a ...

'', ''The Groucho Marx Show'', ''Hawthorne TBA'', ''

The Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety program ...

'', ''The Nelson Eddy Show'', ''The Old Gold Program'', ''

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

'', ''Sara's Private Caper'', and ''Western Caravan''. In 1948, Armbruster was musical director, conductor and solo pianist for the Kraft Music Hall program starring

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

. A fine pianist, he was featured each week in classical piano solos. The program had an excellent orchestra of about 35. Regular arrangers included Billy May and Nelson Riddle. In the sixties, Armbruster was head of the music department at MGM Studios. He died in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

on June 20, 1994, at age 97.

References

External links

* http://www.naxos.com/orchestrainfo/811.htm * DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 15, entry 36. {{DEFAULTSORT:Armbruster, Robert 1897 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American male musicians American male composers American male conductors (music) Songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers American male pianists Classical musicians from Pennsylvania American male songwriters