Harley Hamilton
Born
Harley Hamilton

1861
New York, US
DiedMay 1933 (aged 71–72)[1]
Other namesHarley Burnham Hamilton
EducationNew York College of Music
Occupation(s)Conductor, violinist and composer
Known forFounder and conductor of LA Symphony
ChildrenViola Hamilton Taylor

Harley Hamilton (March 8, 1861 – May 14, 1933) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He was the founder and first conductor of the LA Women's Orchestra in 1893 and of the LA Symphony in 1897. Hamilton was one of the first symphony American directors in those years, when most conductors were born and trained abroad.[2][nb 1]

Hamilton was born in 1861 in Kenwood, New York, to Susan C. Williams and Henry W. Burnham. He was a member of the Oneida Community in New York, which his parents joined in 1848, until the Community dissolved in 1881. Shortly before his mother's death, he was adopted by Erastus Hapgood Hamilton (a leading Community member and architect of the Oneida Community Mansion House; now a Museum), from whom he took his name. He was trained as a violinist and conductor (by Oneida Community member and bandleader Charles Joslyn). He worked as a printer and it is believed that his stepfather sent him to study at the New York College of Music, where he graduated. In 1881, when the Community dissolved, he started traveling as a member of a minstrel group arriving in Los Angeles in 1883. He worked in Los Angeles both as a printer and musician, with several experiences as director and a member of choirs, bands and orchestras. He worked with both amateur and professional orchestras.[2]

Hamilton formed the LA Women's Orchestra in 1893 and the LA Symphony in 1897. Both became quite popular and contributed to the development of symphonic music in the Los Angeles area. He resigned from both in 1913, probably due to advancing deafness.[2][4] He died of apoplexy (stroke) in 1933.[3] He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California (Find A Grave Reference).

Notes

  1. ↑ death date derived from obituaries' dates[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 "HARLEY HAMILTON - Founder and Lonp Conductor of Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra - Obituary - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. 1933-05-16. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  2. 1 2 3 Smith, Catherine H. (2007). Making music in Los Angeles: transforming the popular. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25139-7.
  3. 1 2 "L.A. Times Archives - Hamilton's obituary". 1933-05-15. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  4. ↑ Eric Freeman (2008-01-14). The Emergence of the Symphony Orchestra as Nonprofit Entity in America: 1842-1909 (PDF). University of San Francisco, Masters of Nonprofit Administration. Retrieved 2011-01-22.


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