George Whiting

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George Elbridge Whiting was an American composer of classical music. He was born 14 September 1840 (or 1842) in Holliston, Massachusetts, and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts 14 October 1923 at the age of 83.

He founded the Beethoven Society in Hartford, Connecticut when he was fifteen years old.

He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1862 and later to New York City.

1 Education
2 Posts
3 Obituaries
4 Musical works

[edit] Education

He was a student of George W. Morgan. He went to Liverpool, England, and studied with William T. Best. He later studied in Berlin with Robert Radecke and others.

[edit] Posts

He worked in various positions in Albany, New York and Boston.

He succeeded John Henry Willcox as organist and choir master at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the south side of Boston, where he composed his masses in C minor, F minor, and Eb major.

In 1874 he became organist of the Music hall in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1878 he went to the Music Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He was also for a time head of the organ department in the New England Conservatory.

[edit] Obituaries

On 16 October 1923 the Boston Globe reported:

Funeral services for George E. Whiting, widely known as an organist, composer, teacher and conductor, will be held tomorrow at 2 in Mt. Auburn chapel, Cambridge. He died yesterday, aged 83, at Cambridge. Mr. Whiting was born in Holliston. He began his musical studies at the age of 5. When he was 13 he made his first appearance as an organist, in Worcester. He later studied in London, under the famous organist, Bast. Mr. Whiting served as organist in Hartford, Albany and other cities. At Albany he was organist of St. Joseph's presiding at the largest organ in the country, at that time. In 1862 he made his first appearance in Boston, at Tremont Temple. In 1872 he became a teacher at the New England Conservatory of Music. Leaving there in 1878, he became organist at the Cincinnati Music Hall, at its opening. Later he was elected organist of the corporation and professor of the organ and of composition in the College of Music in that city. He later returned to the conservatory, in this city. Mr. Whiting was organist of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Harrison Av., for many years, and was also conductor of the large choir of that church.

On 18 October 1923 the Boston Globe reported:

Funeral services for George E. Whiting of Cambridge, composer and musician, who died on Monday, were held yesterday afternoon at Mt. Auburn Chapel. Rev. Abbott Peterson of the First Unitarian Church of Brookline, officiated. The body was cremated and the ashes will be placed in the family lot in rural Cemetery, Worcester. John P. Hession, an old pupil of Mr. Whiting, played four of Mr. Whiting's last compositions, funeral preludes, at the services. These selections have never been published and were given to Mr. Hession by the composer.