Frederic Archer (16 June 1838 – 22 October 1901) was a British composer, conductor and organist, born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He studied music in London and Leipzig, and held musical positions in England and Scotland until 1880, when he became organist of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York.[1]

Frederic Archer

Archer was later appointed conductor of the Boston, Massachusetts Oratorio Society, director of Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 1899 organist of the Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh.[1] In 1896, he established the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.[2] In 1885, he founded The Keynote, which for a time he edited, and also published several books and numerous organ compositions.[1]

Death edit

Archer died of cancer at his home in Pittsburgh on 22 October 1901, aged 63.[3] He, his wife, and daughter rest in apparently unmarked graves at Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery.[4] [5][6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c   Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Archer, Frederic". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  2. ^ Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Years. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1902. p. 406. OCLC 9213131. Archer, Frederic
  3. ^ "Pittsburg Organist's Life Ended". The Pittsburg Press. 22 October 1901. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Pittsburgh Symphony's First Conductor: Frederic Archer". The Homewood Cemetery Historical Fund. 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. ^ Archer, Frederic (1944). Seventy Solos for the Hammond Organ or Reed Organ. New York: G. Schirmer.
  6. ^ "Obituary: Mr. Frederick Archer". The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. 42 (706): 827. 1 December 1901.

Bibliography edit