- John Finley Williamson
Infobox Person
name = John Finley Williamson
image_size =
caption =
birth_date = 1887
birth_place =
death_date = 1964
death_place =
occupation = Conductor and musician
spouse =
parents =
children =John Finley Williamson (1887-1964) was the founder of Westminster Choir and co-founder of
Westminster Choir College . He is considered to be one of the most influential choral conductors of the twentieth century. He was described byThe New York Times as the "dean of American choral directors."cite book | last =Beck | first =Joseph G. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Selected Writings of John Finely Williamson | publisher =AuthorHouse | date =04/08/04 |isbn= 1418404594 ]Westminster
John Finley Williamson founded the Westminster Choir in 1920 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of
Dayton, Ohio . Convinced that professionally trained musicians could best serve the church, he established the Westminster Choir School in September 1926 with sixty students and a faculty of ten instructors. As the Choir School and the Westminster Choir's reputation grew, the demand for the school's graduates increased. The graduates came to be known as "Minsters of Music," a term coined by Dr. Williamson and still being used today by many church music programs.As early as 1922, the choir, then known as the Dayton Westminster Choir, began touring the
United States annually and sang in such prominent places asCarnegie Hall (New York City ), Symphony Hall (Boston), the Academy of Music (Philadelphia ), Orchestra Hall (Chicago ) and theWhite House for President Coolidge. Years later the Westminster Choir also sang for Presidents Roosevelt and Eisenhower. The Westminster Choir made its first commercial recording with RCA Victor in 1926. Subsequently the Choir recorded with major conductors and orchestras.In 1928, the Westminster Choir and the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra , conducted byLeopold Stokowski , made the nation's first coast-to-coast radio broadcast on Cincinnati stationWLW . A few years later, because of the choir's growing reputation, it made a total of 60 half-hour broadcasts fromNBC 's New York facilities.The first
Europe an tour took place in 1929 and was sponsored by Dayton philanthropist Katharine Hauk Talbott and endorsed by Walter Damrosch, conductor of theNew York Symphony Orchestra . The tour included 26 concerts in major cities of Europe.Originally a three year program, the Choir School moved to
Ithaca College inNew York State in 1929 and enlarged its curriculum to a four year program culminating in aBachelor of Music degree. This move ultimately proved unsatisfactory.In 1932, the Choir School relocated to
Princeton, New Jersey which became its permanent home. Classes were held in the First Presbyterian Church and the Princeton Seminary until 1934 when the Choir School moved to its present campus. This was made possible by a large gift from the philanthropist Sophia Strong Taylor. The dedication of the new campus was marked by a performance ofJohann Sebastian Bach 'sMass in B Minor at the nearbyPrinceton University Chapel with the Westminster Choir, soloists, and thePhiladelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Because of his high regard for the choir, the services of the soloists, orchestra, and conductor were a gift from Stokowski.There was a second European tour in 1934, lasting nine weeks and highlighted by a rare live radio broadcast from the
Soviet Union to the United States. In the fourteen short years since its founding in 1920, the Choir already had two European tours, which earned it international acclaim, and a campus of its own. The State ofNew Jersey in 1939 granted the Choir School accreditation and the name Westminster Choir College was adopted.In years to come, under Dr. Williamson's leadership, the Choir would begin having regular concerts with the
New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Westminster Choir sang with the New York Philharmonic for the first time in 1939 conducted by SirJohn Barbirolli . Since that time the Choir has sung over three hundred performances with the Philharmonic, a record number for a single choir to perform with an orchestra. Later that year the choir sang with theNBC Symphony Orchestra conducted byArturo Toscanini . That same year the choir, directed by Dr. Williamson, sang at the dedication of the1939 New York World's Fair which was broadcast to fifty-three countries.In 1957, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange Program, the Westminster Choir undertook a five month world tour, concertizing in twenty-two countries, covering convert|40000|mi|abbr=on and appearing before approximately a quarter of a million people.
Dr. Williamson retired as President of Westminster Choir College in 1958; however, he continued to give choral clinics and seminars around the world. Most notably in 1959, the U.S. State Department asked Dr. Williamson to organize a Westminster alumni choir to tour
Africa . This choir was called the Westminster Singers. The African tour consisted of performances in fifty cities in twenty-six countries with audiences totaling more than 250,000. Following this tour, at the invitation of leading vocal teachers and choral conductors, Dr. Williamson's "retirement" consisted of conducting choral clinics and vocal festivals throughout the United States,Japan ,Korea and thePhilippines . ASouth America n choir tour was being planned by the State Department but was canceled because of Dr. Williamson's sudden death in 1964.In accordance with his request, Dr. Williamson's ashes were scattered on the Quadrangle of his beloved campus on July 3, 1964. Dramatically this took place during the performance of
Giuseppe Verdi 's Requiem with the Westminster Festival Choir, soloists, and the Festival Orchestra conducted byEugene Ormandy . This performance on the Westminster campus was part of the Tercentennial Celebration of the State of New Jersey. The following day a memorial service for Dr. Williamson was held in the College Chapel.In 1976, Westminster celebrated its 50th anniversary highlighted by a performance of
Ludwig van Beethoven 's Ninth Symphony with theAtlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw, alumni soloists, and the Westminster Alumni Choir on the Princeton campus.In 1992, following a year of affiliation, Westminster merged with
Rider University (then Rider College) and is now known as Westminster Choir College of Rider University. The Westminster campus still remains in Princeton along with Rider's larger suburban campus inLawrenceville, New Jersey . In 2001, Westminster Choir College celebrated its 75th anniversary.Currently, the Director of Choral Activities is Dr. Joe Miller, formerly of
Western Michigan University . He replaced longtime conductor Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt upon his retirement at the end of the 2004-2005 academic year.References
External links
[http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2003/10/13/page3/ The Daily Princetonian: Westminster Choir College]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.