Donald Voorhees was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 who received an Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 nomination for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the television series, The Bell Telephone Hour

The Bell Telephone Hour

The Bell Telephone Hour is a long-run concert series which began April 29, 1940 on NBC Radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone, it showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television...

.

Career

Starting in 1926, Voorhees' orchestra recorded prolifically for Columbia

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

, Edison

Edison Records

Edison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...

, Pathe

Pathé Records

Pathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.- Early years :...

, Perfect

Perfect Records

Perfect Records was a United States based record label of the 1920s and 1930s. It was a subsidiary of Pathé Records, producing standard lateral cut 78 rpm disc records for the US market....

, Cameo

Cameo Records

Cameo was a USA based budget record label, first flourishing in the 1920s, not connected with a later record label of the same name which was active in the 1950s and 1960s.The Cameo Record Company was based in Manhattan, New York...

, and Hit of the Week

Hit of the Week Records

Hit of the Week Records was a record label based in the United States of America in the early 1930s. Distinctively, "Hit of the Week"s were made not of shellac as was usual for gramophone record of the era, but of a patented blend of paper and resin called Durium...

 through 1931, when (apparently) he disbanded.

From 1935 to 1941, and from 1949 to 1953 (with Ardon Cornwell), Voorhees was the musical director and conductor for the radio and television show, Cavalcade of America

Cavalcade of America

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on...

.

Voorhees also served as conductor of the Bell Telephone Hour orchestra for 26 years, from its first broadcasts on radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 in 1942 until its final television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 episode in 1968. He was nominated for an Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 in 1966 for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the series.

He was also the first conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra

Allentown Symphony Orchestra

The Allentown Symphony Orchestra is a major regional symphony orchestra based in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1951, the orchestra's current home is the historic, 1200-seat Allentown Symphony Hall, located in downtown Allentown...

. Voorhees served as conductor and musical director of the orchestra from its inception in 1951 until 1983.

External links