Damrosch, Frank (Heino)
Damrosch, Frank (Heino)
Damrosch, Frank (Heino) , German-American conductor and teacher, son of Leopold Damrosch and brother of Walter (Johannes) Damrosch; b. Breslau, June 22, 1859; d. N.Y., Oct. 22, 1937. He studied piano and composition in his youth; in 1871 he went with his family to N.Y., then went to Denver, where he conducted the Chorus Club (1882–85) and was supervisor of music in the public schools (1884–85). Returning to N.Y., he was chorus master and asst. conductor at the Metropolitan Opera (1885–91). After studying composition with Moszkowski in Berlin (1891), he returned to N.Y and organized the People’s Singing Classes in 1892, which he conducted as the People’s Choral Union (1894–1909). In 1893 he founded the Musical Art Soc., a professional chorus devoted to the performance of a cappella choral works, which he led until 1920; he also conducted the Oratorio Soc. (1898–1912). From 1898 to 1912 he conducted a series of sym. concerts for young people that were continued by his brother Walter; he also served as supervisor of music in N.Y. public schools (1897–1905). In 1905 he established the splendidly equipped Inst. of Musical Art, which, in 1926, became affiliated with the Juilliard School of Music; he retained his position as dean until his retirement in 1933. He received the degree of D.Mus. (honoris causa) from Yale Univ. in 1904. He publ. Popular Method of Sight-Singing(N.Y, 1894), Some Essentials in the Teaching of Music (N.Y, 1916), and Institute of Musical Art, 1905–1926 (N.Y, 1936).
Bibliography
L. and R. Stebbins, F. D. (1945); G. Martin, The D. Dynasty: America’s First Family of Music (N.Y, 1983).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire