William Albert Beller
Encyclopedia
William Albert Beller was an American
concert pianist and professor of music at Marquette University
and Columbia University
. He was deemed a musical prodigy when he was 4 years old. He had also taught piano at the Bronx House Music School in the 1930s.
, where, in 1917, he received a Senior Diploma with the Diamond Medal for Excellence in Scholarship. In 1918, he received a Graduate Medal; and in 1921, a Bachelor of Music degree with a prize of a grand piano. At some point (upon one of his graduations) he received a Gold Medal.
Beller studied piano with (i) Howard Wells (1986-?) in Chicago, (ii) Tobias Matthay
and, (iii) in 1926, accepted a Juilliard fellowship to study with Josef Lhevinne
in New York.
.
Beller also taught piano in Hartford, Ann Arbor, and Chicago
. Beller also maintained a private studio at Carnegie Hall
.
Private lessons (outside of Columbia)
artist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
concert pianist and professor of music at Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He was deemed a musical prodigy when he was 4 years old. He had also taught piano at the Bronx House Music School in the 1930s.
Formal training
In 1916, Beller won scholarship at the Chicago Musical CollegeChicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College is a division of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt UniversityIt was founded in 1867, less than four decades after the city of Chicago was incorporated...
, where, in 1917, he received a Senior Diploma with the Diamond Medal for Excellence in Scholarship. In 1918, he received a Graduate Medal; and in 1921, a Bachelor of Music degree with a prize of a grand piano. At some point (upon one of his graduations) he received a Gold Medal.
Beller studied piano with (i) Howard Wells (1986-?) in Chicago, (ii) Tobias Matthay
Tobias Matthay
Tobias Augustus Matthay was an English pianist, teacher, and composer.-Biography:Matthaw as born in London in 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and were naturalised British subjects...
and, (iii) in 1926, accepted a Juilliard fellowship to study with Josef Lhevinne
Josef Lhévinne
Josef Lhévinne was a Russian pianist and piano teacher.Joseph Arkadievich Levin was born into a family of musicians in Oryol and studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov...
in New York.
Concert work in New York
When Beller arrived in New York, he was represented by NBC Artists Service (aka National Broadcasting and Concert Bureau), George W. Engles, Managing Director, RCA Building, New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Teaching positions
- 1930-1935 (summers) — As a visiting professor, Beller taught piano in Dallas (Dallas Conservatory of Music and Fine Arts), Denton (Texas Woman's UniversityTexas Woman's UniversityTexas Woman's University is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas...
), and Fort Worth (Fort Worth Conservatory) during the summers. The Dallas Conservatory was essentially a collection of music teachers led by Carl Wiesemann in the 1930s who taught from the Terrill School. - 1934 (summer) — Beller and Joseph Brinkman gave a four-week series of lecture-recitals on Bach, HaydenHaydenHayden may refer to:*Hayden or its variants below,*Hayden *Hayden , a Canadian folk musician*Hayden mango or Haden, a mango cultivar*Hayden , a British guitar amplification manufacturer...
, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, and Ravel as part of a graduate seminar at the University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan... - 1919-?? — Professor, Marquette UniversityMarquette UniversityMarquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
Conservatory of Music (organized as a conservatory in 1911). - Fall 1941-?? — Faculty member, and eventually chairman of the piano department, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Beller also taught piano in Hartford, Ann Arbor, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Beller also maintained a private studio at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.
Students
Columbia University- Kenneth Lee Ascher (jazz pianist, composer)
- Mark P. Malkovich III (concert pianist, chamber music expert)
- Michael Shapiro, (BA, CC 1962)
Private lessons (outside of Columbia)
- Don FriedmanDon FriedmanDonald Ernest Friedman , better known as Don Friedman, is a jazz pianist. On the West Coast, he performed with Dexter Gordon, Chet Baker, Buddy DeFranco and Ornette Coleman, among others, before moving to New York...
(jazz pianist, music educator) – studied with Beller from 1960 to 1961
Honors
- 1925 — Winner, Piano, National Federation of Music ClubsNational Federation of Music ClubsThe National Federation of Music Clubs was founded in 1898, became an NGO member of the United Nations in 1949, and was chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1982. NFMC is a non-profit philanthropic music organization whose goal is to promote American music, performers, and composers through quality...
. Each biennium, the Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs sponsored a contest for young artists and student musicians, in all classes of music, piano, voice, violin, organ, and cello. The winners of the contest compete with winners of the same contest from Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska; and the winners from that district appear in the finals at the meeting of the National Federation, a composed of twelve districts of the United States. Beller won the National competition in Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, which included a $500 prize. - 1925 — Winner, Mason and Hamlin PrizeMason and Hamlin PrizeThe Mason and Hamlin Prize was a coveted national piano competition, sponsored by Mason and Hamlin that awarded a Mason and Hamlin grand piano. The competition is held annually in Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory.- Winners :* 1910 – Julius Chaloff...
, thereupon presented as soloist with the Chicago Symphony OrchestraChicago Symphony OrchestraThe Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival... - 1926 — Awarded a Juilliard Fellowship with Josef LhévinneJosef LhévinneJosef Lhévinne was a Russian pianist and piano teacher.Joseph Arkadievich Levin was born into a family of musicians in Oryol and studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov...
The Chicago days
In 1925, while in Chicago, Beller worked for Lyon & Healy and was a Duo-ArtDuo-Art
Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company , introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of the poor quality of the early Phonograph...
artist.