Edwin Arthur Jones, (June 28, 1853 – January 9, 1911) was an American composer. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance He was called "one modest man who knows the power of music" by Edward Everett Hale, author of The Man Without a Country. This modest man, from a rural Massachusetts town about 20 miles south of Boston, composed some very significant works. These include a masterful cantata and a large oratorio in three parts, modeled after Handel's Messiah.
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Early life and education
Edwin Arthur Jones was born at 9 Pearl Street in Stoughton, Massachusetts on June 28, 1853. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common After studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in violin, organ and harmony, Jones entered Dartmouth College in 1872. Dartmouth College ( is a private, Coeducational University located in Hanover, New Hampshire, U Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year
That same year, when he was only 19, Jones was a violinist among the thousands of instrumentalists and singers who played at the World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival in Boston, organized by bandmaster Patrick Gilmore. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore ( 25 December, 1829 &ndash 24 September, 1892) was an Irish -born Composer and bandmaster One of the special invited guests was the Viennese composer, Johann Strauss Jr, who performed some of his popular waltzes.
E. A. Jones graduated from Dartmouth College in 1876, where he was Class President, Director of the Dartmouth Glee Club, First violinist in the Dartmouth College Orchestra, one of the editors of the college newspaper, and Captain of the Dartmouth baseball team. Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year
First Compositions
After graduation, he went to Baltimore to help his family run a store. His first major composition was a delightful set of waltzes for solo piano, The Farewell Waltzes, which he had composed while at Dartmouth College. This composition was published in Baltimore in 1874. Year 1874 ( MDCCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common He also made an arrangement for chamber orchestra.
Six years later, in 1880, his First String Quartet was performed at the Peabody Concervatory in Baltimore, where it was well received. Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year He then returned to his home town in Massachusetts.
Orchestra Leader and Composer
After returning to Stoughton, Jones formed his own orchestra of 20 musicians. A photo of his orchestra from 1885 is found in E. A. Jones: His Life and Music.
In 1881, he composed his masterpiece — a large cantata for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra, Song of Our Saviour. Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This cantata was never performed during his lifetime and received its world premiere over one hundred years later on May 3, 1992. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The cantata was a reworking of an earlier composition, The Nativity Hymn, one of only four to receive honorable mention in 1879 in the Cincinnati College of Music competition, judged by the distinguished American conductor, Theodore Thomas. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
The other major choral work by Jones was his oratorio, Easter Concert, published in 1890 in a piano-vocal score by White-Smith Music in Boston. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The orchestral parts have not been located.
Besides his two large choral works, Jones also composed other choral works, solo songs and chamber music, and only a few orchestral works.
Jones was a member of the two choral societies in town: The Stoughton Musical Society, founded in 1786 and now the oldest choral society in America, and The Musical Society in Stoughton, founded in 1802, disbanded in 1982. Organized in 1786 this is currently America's oldest choral society Year 1786 ( MDCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1802 ( MDCCCII) was a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) He was largely responsible for the Stoughton Musical Society's invitation to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The World's Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago World's Fair) a World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Civic Leadership
E. A. Jones is also remembered for his participation as a member of the School Committee and Superintendent of Schools, Trustee of the Public Library, President of the Fortnightly Club, and Secretary of the Chicataubut Club.
In addition, he designed the Stoughton Town Seal in 1892. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year It is perhaps the only one with a special music logo in it — designating the oldest choral society in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Today, there is a school in Stoughton named after him, just across the street from where he lived.
He died at his family's home on Pearl Street on January 9, 1911, at the age of 57. Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
External links
- Edwin A. Jones and history of the Stoughton Town Seal
- Music from Stoughton
- Remembering Edwin A. Jones
References
Roger L. Hall, E. . A. Jones: His Life and Music (Old Stoughton Musical Society, 1984)
_____________, "Jones, Edwin Arthur" in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, Vol. Two (MacmillanPress, 1986)
_____________, Music in Stoughton: A Brief Survey (PineTree Press, 1989)
Ten Town Tunes, Music from Stoughton, 1770-1990 (PineTree Press, 1998)
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