Damrosch << DAM rosh >>, Walter Johannes (1862-1950), was an American composer, conductor, and music educator. In 1925, he conducted the New York Symphony Orchestra in the first symphonic program ever broadcast on radio. He was musical counsel for the National Broadcasting Company from 1927 to 1947. During those years, children throughout the nation learned about great music by listening to the Music Appreciation Hour he directed. Damrosch created catchy rhymes to accompany the instrumental melodies to help popularize the work of many classical composers.
Damrosch was born on Jan. 30, 1862, in Breslau, Silesia (now Wrocław, Poland). He was the son of conductor Leopold Damrosch. Walter came to the United States with his father in 1871. In 1885, he succeeded his father as director of the Oratorio and Symphony Societies of New York City. In 1894, he founded the Damrosch Opera Company to present the operas of Richard Wagner. Damrosch helped reorganize the Symphony Society in 1903 and then served as its conductor until it merged with the New York Philharmonic Society in 1926. His works include the operas The Scarlet Letter (1896), Cyrano de Bergerac (1913), and The Man Without a Country (1937); choral and orchestral works; and several songs. Damrosch died on Dec. 22, 1950.
