Kenneth Schermerhorn
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Dewitt Schermerhorn (icon ; November 20, 1929 – April 18, 2005) 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 orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 conductor, most notably for the Nashville Symphony.

Biography

Schermerhorn was born in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...

, where he studied clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

, and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

 in school. At age 14, he forged a baptismal certificate to appear older so he could play in a dance band that played in night clubs. He soon created his own five piece band called The Blue Moods. He sang the lead and played trumpet for the group.

At 17, he was accepted into the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...

, from which he graduated in 1950 with honors. He went on to play trumpet with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...

 and the Kansas City Philharmonic among several other orchestras.

Schermerhorn was drafted into the U.S. Army and in 1953, while serving in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, he was assigned to be the conductor of the U.S. Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra. This was his first conducting position and he proved to be quite successful, winning the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal and the Harriet Cohen International Music Award
Harriet Cohen International Music Award
The Harriet Cohen International Music Award was founded in 1951 by Sir Arnold Bax and others in 1951, in honour of the British pianist Harriet Cohen.- 1950s :1951*Philippe Entremont – Piano Medal1954*Ingrid Haebler – Beethoven Medal1955...

 for young conductors.

After leaving the Army, Schermerhorn studied and played under Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...

 at Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...

. At Tanglewood Schermerhorn won the Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...

 Memorial Conducting Award for two consecutive years. This was a very influential time in Schermerhorn's life. He was quoted as saying of Bernstein, "He was my first real and certainly my most important teacher." Later in life, Schermerhorn would serve again under Bernstein as the assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...

.

In 1957, Schermerhorn was appointed to the position of music director of the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...

. He served in this position until 1968, and then again from 1982–1984. Schermerhorn, however, did conduct the 1977 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 production of The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...

, Gelsey Kirkland
Gelsey Kirkland
Gelsey Kirkland is an American ballerina. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age fifteen, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was promoted to soloist in 1969 and principal in 1972...

, and the American Ballet Theatre. He also conducted other ballets that Baryshnikov appeared in during the 1970s, such as Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...

's Push Comes To Shove.

Kenneth Schermerhorn was music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1965.

In 1968, Schermerhorn became the music director and conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its primary performing venue is the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts...

. During his time there he was awarded the Sibelius Medal in 1979 from the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 government for his outstanding performance of works by Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...

.

In 1983 Schermerhorn joined the Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
The Nashville Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The orchestra performs 140 concerts annually.-History:...

 as music director and conductor. He is widely credited with raising the level of excellence of the arts in Nashville. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a symphony center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Ground was broken for construction on December 3, 2003. The center formally opened on September 9, 2006, with a gala concert conducted by Leonard Slatkin and broadcast by PBS affiliates throughout the state...

 in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, is named in his honor. The name of the Symphony Center was announced before his death.

Schermerhorn was also the music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra , is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1895 as an amateur orchestra, under the name Sino-British Orchestra, it was renamed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957, and became a professional orchestra in 1974 under the funding...

 between 1984 and 1988. He helped improve the orchestra's quality and made several recordings with the orchestra; most notably, he conducted the orchestra on its debut 1986 tour of the People's Republic of China, which featured soloists Stephanie Chase
Stephanie Chase
"One of the most respected classical violinists in the world," Stephanie Chase is an American concert violinist and educator.- Biography :...

 and Li Jian and garnered worldwide media attention.

He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron
Delta Omicron
Delta Omicron is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship.-History:...

, an international professional music fraternity.

Schermerhorn died on April 18, 2005 at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

 Medical Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a collection of several hospitals and clinics, as well as the schools of medicine and nursing associated with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.It comprises the following units:...

 after a brief battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....

.
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