Calvin E. Simmons
Encyclopedia
Calvin Eugene Simmons was an American symphony orchestra conductor. He was the first African-American conductor of a major orchestra.
,1950. At the age of 9, Simmons entered the Bay Area's musical scene and began living his dream of becoming a world-class musician. He had been taught the piano from an early age by his mother, Matty. By the age of 11, he was conducting the San Francisco Boys Chorus, started by Madi Bacon, of which he had been a member. Madi gave him the early artistic freedom to assist with the chorus that would serve him and others for years.
After working as assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
under Zubin Mehta
, Simmons became musical director of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra at age 28; he led the orchestra for four years. He continued to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, both at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and at the Hollywood Bowl
. He would be supporting Carmen McRae singing jazz one night, and then conducting William Walton
or Holst
's The Planets
a night or two later. He was the first African-American to be named conductor of a major U.S. symphony orchestra and a frequent guest conductor with some of the nation's major opera companies and orchestras (e.g. the Philadelphia Orchestra
and others).
He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera conducting Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel, returning the following year. He was active at the Glyndebourne Festival in England. He collaborated with the British director Jonathan Miller
on a celebrated production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at the Opera Theater of St. Louis (USA) shortly before his death.
He remained active at the San Francisco Opera
all his adult life, supporting intendant Kurt Herbert Adler
, first as a repetiteur and then as a member of the conducting staff. He made his formal debut conducting Puccini's La Bohème with Ileana Cotrubas
. His later work on a production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District drew national attention.
His final concerts were three performances of the Requiem
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in the summer of 1982 with the Masterworks Chorale and the Midsummer Mozart Festival
Orchestra.
in New York. After a large public funeral at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, he was buried in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
in Colma, California
.
At a memorial concert held in Oakland's Paramount Theater
a few weeks later, he was remembered for his talent, his quick wit and sense of fun, and his ability to get on top of any score quickly.
The Calvin Simmons Middle School in Oakland is named for him, as is the grand ballroom of the Oakland Marriott Hotel.
The short story Addio San Francisco which appears in the anthology Murder at the Opera, (Mysterious Press, 1989) was a story written by Simmons with editor Thomas Godfrey under a pseudonym.
Convention Center in Oakland, California
.
His death inspired Lou Harrison
to compose the Elegy, To The Memory Of Calvin Simmons, and Michael Tippett
to compose The Blue Guitar, a sonata for solo guitar.
Biography
Simmons was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
,1950. At the age of 9, Simmons entered the Bay Area's musical scene and began living his dream of becoming a world-class musician. He had been taught the piano from an early age by his mother, Matty. By the age of 11, he was conducting the San Francisco Boys Chorus, started by Madi Bacon, of which he had been a member. Madi gave him the early artistic freedom to assist with the chorus that would serve him and others for years.
After working as assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
under Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Simmons became musical director of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra at age 28; he led the orchestra for four years. He continued to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, both at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
. He would be supporting Carmen McRae singing jazz one night, and then conducting William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
or Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
's The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...
a night or two later. He was the first African-American to be named conductor of a major U.S. symphony orchestra and a frequent guest conductor with some of the nation's major opera companies and orchestras (e.g. the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
and others).
He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera conducting Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel, returning the following year. He was active at the Glyndebourne Festival in England. He collaborated with the British director Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
on a celebrated production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at the Opera Theater of St. Louis (USA) shortly before his death.
He remained active at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
all his adult life, supporting intendant Kurt Herbert Adler
Kurt Herbert Adler
Kurt Herbert Adler was an Austrian-born American conductor and opera house director.Adler was born in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family. His work in the field of music led him to become the assistant to Arturo Toscanini at the Salzburg Festival in 1936 and he also worked in Italy...
, first as a repetiteur and then as a member of the conducting staff. He made his formal debut conducting Puccini's La Bohème with Ileana Cotrubas
Ileana Cotrubas
Ileana Cotrubaş is a Romanian opera soprano whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was much admired for her acting skills and facility for singing opera in many different languages.-Biography:...
. His later work on a production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District drew national attention.
His final concerts were three performances of the Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
in the summer of 1982 with the Masterworks Chorale and the Midsummer Mozart Festival
Midsummer Mozart Festival
The Midsummer Mozart Festival is an annual music festival that exclusively features the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The festival was founded by George Cleve in 1974 and is held in the San Francisco Bay Area....
Orchestra.
Death
Simmons died in a 1982 canoeing accident at the age of 32 near Lake GeorgeLake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
in New York. After a large public funeral at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, he was buried in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". It is the final resting site for several members of the celebrated Hearst family plus other prominent citizens from the greater San...
in Colma, California
Colma, California
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....
.
At a memorial concert held in Oakland's Paramount Theater
Paramount Theater
Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to:In China*Paramount or Paramount Theatre, Shanghai, ChinaIn the United States *Paramount Theater on the U.S...
a few weeks later, he was remembered for his talent, his quick wit and sense of fun, and his ability to get on top of any score quickly.
The Calvin Simmons Middle School in Oakland is named for him, as is the grand ballroom of the Oakland Marriott Hotel.
The short story Addio San Francisco which appears in the anthology Murder at the Opera, (Mysterious Press, 1989) was a story written by Simmons with editor Thomas Godfrey under a pseudonym.
Legacy
The Oakland Symphony Orchestra was reorganized in July 1988 as the Oakland East Bay Symphony Orchestra. Simmons has been honored by the naming of the Calvin Simmons Theatre at the Henry J. KaiserHenry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
Convention Center in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
His death inspired Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison
Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...
to compose the Elegy, To The Memory Of Calvin Simmons, and Michael Tippett
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
to compose The Blue Guitar, a sonata for solo guitar.
Sources
- Wolfe, Rinna Evelyn, The Calvin Simmons Story: Or, Don't Call Me Maestro, Muse Wood Press, Berkeley, California
- Archive article at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
dated, August 23, 1982 and September 9, 1982. - Cypress Lawn Memorial ParkCypress Lawn Memorial ParkCypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". It is the final resting site for several members of the celebrated Hearst family plus other prominent citizens from the greater San...
, Colma, California web link below http://www.cypresslawn.com/notables_simmons.html - The posting of his bio by John T. Griffith on Find A Grave at link below http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7680460&pt=Calvin%20Simmons