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Saturday October 11th 2008 |
a non-profit education organization | |
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Saturday October 11th 2008 |
a non-profit education organization | |
October 16
From Los Angeles, California Lewis began studying piano at the age of five and later learned to play the clarinet as well as several string instruments. At the age of 16, he joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic, becoming the first black instrumentalist in a major orchestra. After six years as a double-bassist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, he played with and conducted the Seventh Army Symphony while serving in the United States Armed Forces (1955-1956). He gained national recognition in 1961 when he was appointed assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, a post he held until 1965. Lewis moved to Newark, New Jersey, where in 1968 he became conductor and music director of the New Jersey Symphony, a small community ensemble. He transformed the ensemble into a nationally recognized orchestra that yearly performed more than a hundred concerts, including outreach programs for local communities, and in 1972 he debuted at the New York Metropolitan Opera, conducting Puccini's La Boheme. From 1960 to 1979 he was married to famed opera singer Marilyn Horne, who considered him her "teacher and right hand.” After retiring from the New Jersey Symphony in 1976, Lewis continued to tour as a guest conductor for 20 years until his death from a heart attack at the age of 63. He was the first Black to become a regular conductor of a major American symphony orchestra. During a music career that spanned nearly five decades, Henry Lewis gained wide respect as a conductor, instrumentalist, and pioneer in the classical music world. Lewis died from a heart attack in 1996 at the age of 63. Reference: Bach Cantatas
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The African American Registry®, The African American Registry® Copyright 2005, 2006
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