Frederick Shepherd Converse (b. Newton, Mass., Jan. 5, 1871; d. Westwood, Mass., June 8, 1940) was an American composer, teacher and administrator. Converse graduated from Harvard College in 1893 where he studied with John Knowles Paine. Converse pursued further advanced studies in piano with Carl Baermann and in composition with George W. Chadwick. In 1896 Converse traveled to Munich where he studied under Josef Rheinberger at the Konigliche Akademie der Tonkunst, graduating in 1898.
Upon his return to the Boston area, Converse became deeply involved in its musical life. From 1900 to 1902 he was an instructor in harmony at the New England Conservatory; from 1903 to 1907 he taught at Harvard College, first as an instructor, later as an assistant professor, resigning in 1907 to devote more time to composition. The years between 1907 and 1914 saw Converse at the height of his career as a composer. Following World War I, Converse returned to the New England Conservatory in 1920 as head of the theory department and in 1931 was appointed dean of the faculty. He resigned in 1938 due to failing health.
Converse was one of the organizers of the Boston Opera Company and served as its first Vice President from 1909-1914. The Pipe of Desire, Converse’s first opera, became the first American work ever to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910. His second opera, The Sacrifice was produced by the Boston Opera Company in 1911. Today, Converse is probably best known for his orchestral works such as Flivver Ten Million, a fantasy for orchestra and the symphonic poem The Mystic Trumpeter (1904) based on the poem of the same name from Walt Whitman’s iconic anthology, Leaves of Grass.
Among the honors bestowed upon Converse during his lifetime were the David Bispham Medal, conferred upon him by the American Opera Society of Chicago for his opera, The Pipe of Desire; and his elections into the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1908) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1937).
Converse married Emma (Tudor) in 1894, and they had two sons, Frederick S. Jr. and Edmund Winchester 2nd, both of whom died at an early age, and five daughters - Louise, Augusta, Marie, Virginia, and Elizabeth.
Information from the Frederick S. Converse Collection, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston MA
Upon his return to the Boston area, Converse became deeply involved in its musical life. From 1900 to 1902 he was an instructor in harmony at the New England Conservatory; from 1903 to 1907 he taught at Harvard College, first as an instructor, later as an assistant professor, resigning in 1907 to devote more time to composition. The years between 1907 and 1914 saw Converse at the height of his career as a composer. Following World War I, Converse returned to the New England Conservatory in 1920 as head of the theory department and in 1931 was appointed dean of the faculty. He resigned in 1938 due to failing health.
Converse was one of the organizers of the Boston Opera Company and served as its first Vice President from 1909-1914. The Pipe of Desire, Converse’s first opera, became the first American work ever to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910. His second opera, The Sacrifice was produced by the Boston Opera Company in 1911. Today, Converse is probably best known for his orchestral works such as Flivver Ten Million, a fantasy for orchestra and the symphonic poem The Mystic Trumpeter (1904) based on the poem of the same name from Walt Whitman’s iconic anthology, Leaves of Grass.
Among the honors bestowed upon Converse during his lifetime were the David Bispham Medal, conferred upon him by the American Opera Society of Chicago for his opera, The Pipe of Desire; and his elections into the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1908) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1937).
Converse married Emma (Tudor) in 1894, and they had two sons, Frederick S. Jr. and Edmund Winchester 2nd, both of whom died at an early age, and five daughters - Louise, Augusta, Marie, Virginia, and Elizabeth.
Information from the Frederick S. Converse Collection, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston MA
Frederick Shepherd Converse (b. Newton, Mass., Jan. 5, 1871; d. Westwood, Mass., June 8, 1940) was an American composer, teacher and administrator. Converse graduated from Harvard College in 1893 where he studied with John Knowles Paine. Converse pursued further advanced studies in piano with Carl Baermann and in composition with George W. Chadwick. In 1896 Converse traveled to Munich where he studied under Josef Rheinberger at the Konigliche Akademie der Tonkunst, graduating in 1898.
Upon his return to the Boston area, Converse became deeply involved in its musical life. From 1900 to 1902 he was an instructor in harmony at the New England Conservatory; from 1903 to 1907 he taught at Harvard College, first as an instructor, later as an assistant professor, resigning in 1907 to devote more time to composition. The years between 1907 and 1914 saw Converse at the height of his career as a composer. Following World War I, Converse returned to the New England Conservatory in 1920 as head of the theory department and in 1931 was appointed dean of the faculty. He resigned in 1938 due to failing health.
Converse was one of the organizers of the Boston Opera Company and served as its first Vice President from 1909-1914. The Pipe of Desire, Converse’s first opera, became the first American work ever to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910. His second opera, The Sacrifice was produced by the Boston Opera Company in 1911. Today, Converse is probably best known for his orchestral works such as Flivver Ten Million, a fantasy for orchestra and the symphonic poem The Mystic Trumpeter (1904) based on the poem of the same name from Walt Whitman’s iconic anthology, Leaves of Grass.
Among the honors bestowed upon Converse during his lifetime were the David Bispham Medal, conferred upon him by the American Opera Society of Chicago for his opera, The Pipe of Desire; and his elections into the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1908) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1937).
Converse married Emma (Tudor) in 1894, and they had two sons, Frederick S. Jr. and Edmund Winchester 2nd, both of whom died at an early age, and five daughters - Louise, Augusta, Marie, Virginia, and Elizabeth.
Information from the Frederick S. Converse Collection, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston MA
Upon his return to the Boston area, Converse became deeply involved in its musical life. From 1900 to 1902 he was an instructor in harmony at the New England Conservatory; from 1903 to 1907 he taught at Harvard College, first as an instructor, later as an assistant professor, resigning in 1907 to devote more time to composition. The years between 1907 and 1914 saw Converse at the height of his career as a composer. Following World War I, Converse returned to the New England Conservatory in 1920 as head of the theory department and in 1931 was appointed dean of the faculty. He resigned in 1938 due to failing health.
Converse was one of the organizers of the Boston Opera Company and served as its first Vice President from 1909-1914. The Pipe of Desire, Converse’s first opera, became the first American work ever to be performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910. His second opera, The Sacrifice was produced by the Boston Opera Company in 1911. Today, Converse is probably best known for his orchestral works such as Flivver Ten Million, a fantasy for orchestra and the symphonic poem The Mystic Trumpeter (1904) based on the poem of the same name from Walt Whitman’s iconic anthology, Leaves of Grass.
Among the honors bestowed upon Converse during his lifetime were the David Bispham Medal, conferred upon him by the American Opera Society of Chicago for his opera, The Pipe of Desire; and his elections into the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1908) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1937).
Converse married Emma (Tudor) in 1894, and they had two sons, Frederick S. Jr. and Edmund Winchester 2nd, both of whom died at an early age, and five daughters - Louise, Augusta, Marie, Virginia, and Elizabeth.
Information from the Frederick S. Converse Collection, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston MA
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