Crosby, John (O’Hea)
Crosby, John (O’Hea)
Crosby, John (O’Hea) , American conductor, opera impresario, and music educator; b. N.Y., July 12, 1926. He received instruction in violin and piano from his mother, and later studied composition with Hindemith at Yale Univ. (B.A., 1950) and conducting with Rudolph Thomas at Columbia Univ. and Monteux in Hancock, Maine. From 1951 to 1956 he was on the staff of the N.Y.C. Opera. In 1956 he founded the Opera Assn. of N.Mex., later renamed the Santa Fe Opera. During his long tenure as its general director and resident conductor, he gave premiere performances of numerous operas by American and foreign composers. Crosby was also president of the Manhattan School of Music in N.Y. (1976–85) and of Opera America (from 1976).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire