Arthur Shepherd papers
Collection
Identifier: MS 0103
Scope and Contents
Arthur Shepherd was born on February 19, 1880 in Paris, Idaho, to Emily Mary Phipp and William Nathaniel Budge Shepherd. The Shepherds were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Arthur Shepherd was raised in the faith. William N.B. Shepherd composed the hymn “Give Us Room That We May Dwell,” and the family supported Arthur Shepherd is musical pursuits as a child: he performed with the Paris Brass Band and the Bear Lake Stake Choir. At the age of twelve, Shepherd entered the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 1897. After graduating, Shepherd returned west, rejoining his family in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they had moved.
Between 1897 and 1909, Shepherd worked in various aspects of music in Utah. He served as conductor of the Salt Lake Theatre orchestra and played chamber music. Shepherd offered private lessons in music theory and piano. He also organized and conducted the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra, the forerunner of the Utah Symphony. During this time, Shepherd also began receiving recognition for his work as a composer: in 1905 he won the Paderewwski Prize for his composition Overture Joyeuse and in 1909 he received first prize in the National Federal of music Clubs for his Sonata for the Pianoforte.
In 1909, Shepherd returned to Boston, and in 1910 he began teaching at the New England Conservatory and served as conductor at the St. Cecilia Society. When the United States joined World War I, Shepherd enlisted and served as bandmaster of the 303rd Field Artillery. In 1920, Shepherd was recruited by Nikolai Sokoloff to serve as assistant conductor and program annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra. Shepherd also lectured at Cleveland College and in 1927 resigned from his position as assistant conductor to take a job teaching at Western Reserve University, where he was involved in the founding of the music department, which he chaired, and the development of its program in experimental opera. Shepherd retired from this position in 1950. Throughout his career, Shepherd composed over 100 works. In addition to his continuing work as annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra and his work as a composer, Shepherd served as the music critic for the Cleveland Press.
On March 5, 1903, Arthur Shepherd married Hattie Hooper Jennings; together, the couple had four children. Shepherd’s experiences in World War I led him to distance himself from the Church of Jesis Christ of Latter-Day Saints and put pressure on his marriage, and Arthur and Hattie Shepherd divorced around 1920. On May 27, 1922 Arthur Shepherd married Grazella Puliver; together, they had one son.
Arthur Shepherd died on January 12, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio, and was buried in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Between 1897 and 1909, Shepherd worked in various aspects of music in Utah. He served as conductor of the Salt Lake Theatre orchestra and played chamber music. Shepherd offered private lessons in music theory and piano. He also organized and conducted the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra, the forerunner of the Utah Symphony. During this time, Shepherd also began receiving recognition for his work as a composer: in 1905 he won the Paderewwski Prize for his composition Overture Joyeuse and in 1909 he received first prize in the National Federal of music Clubs for his Sonata for the Pianoforte.
In 1909, Shepherd returned to Boston, and in 1910 he began teaching at the New England Conservatory and served as conductor at the St. Cecilia Society. When the United States joined World War I, Shepherd enlisted and served as bandmaster of the 303rd Field Artillery. In 1920, Shepherd was recruited by Nikolai Sokoloff to serve as assistant conductor and program annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra. Shepherd also lectured at Cleveland College and in 1927 resigned from his position as assistant conductor to take a job teaching at Western Reserve University, where he was involved in the founding of the music department, which he chaired, and the development of its program in experimental opera. Shepherd retired from this position in 1950. Throughout his career, Shepherd composed over 100 works. In addition to his continuing work as annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra and his work as a composer, Shepherd served as the music critic for the Cleveland Press.
On March 5, 1903, Arthur Shepherd married Hattie Hooper Jennings; together, the couple had four children. Shepherd’s experiences in World War I led him to distance himself from the Church of Jesis Christ of Latter-Day Saints and put pressure on his marriage, and Arthur and Hattie Shepherd divorced around 1920. On May 27, 1922 Arthur Shepherd married Grazella Puliver; together, they had one son.
Arthur Shepherd died on January 12, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio, and was buried in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dates
- 1892-2010
Creator
- Shepherd, Arthur, 1880-1958 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Sketch
Although born in Paris, Idaho, 125 miles north of Salt Lake City in the colorful Bear Lake Valley, Arthur Shepherd has always been claimed by Utah as one of its most distinguished sons.
The younger generation would not remember his tremendous contributions to our local culture; oldsters will never forget what he did. The past three and one-half decades of his life were spent largely in Cleveland, where he became the most influential moving force in that city's musical development--as music critic for the Cleveland Press, assistant conductor of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, program annotator for the orchestra, concert pianist and chairman of Western Reserve University's first-rate music department.
In the latter post he exerted influence in the nation's national music organizations, particularly MTNA (Music Teachers National Assn.) and NASM (National Association of Schools of Music). And yet, it was in none of the aforementioned capacities that he made his most significant contributions--but rather, in the area of composition. He cut a tremendous swath, both nationally and internationally, as a composer. His works have been widely performed both in this country and abroad. Utah Symphony, under Maurice Abravanel, performed his "Horizons" during the 1952-53 season and his "Overture to a Drama" earlier.
Arthur Shepherd was cosmopolitan in outlook, a recognized figure in the music world; yet, at the same time, he loved his periodic visits to his "home" in Salt Lake City where his brothers Albert and Charles made such lasting contributions in the string and piano fields.
His "Overture to a Drama," composed in 1919, received four performances by the Cleveland Orchestra alone, the last being "illuminated by an impassioned performance under George Szell," according to the feature story in the April 1950 issue of Musical Quarterly.
Arthur Shepherd entered the New England Conservatory at the tender age of 12. There, for five years, he studied with Chadwick, Goetschius and others. Graduating from the conservatory with honors at 17, he returned to Salt Lake City where he remained during the next 11 years. Here he received his "boot" training as conductor of the old Salt Lake Theater Orchestra and the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra, "grandfather" of the present-day Utah Symphony. During these years, too, his star as composer began its ascent. An "Overture Joyeuse" earned for him the initial Paderewski prize of $1,000 in 1902--a good-sized sum by present-day inflation standards.
In 1920, at the age of 40, he moved to Cleveland, remaining there until his death last week.
His best known works, "Triptych," the Second Piano Sonata, and "Horizons," Foundation award in 1928, received performances following its composition by the major orchestras of this country and by others as far off as Paris, Prague and Warsaw.
Upon retiring from his Western Reserve post in 1948, he was immediately signed for guest teaching at Columbia University. In 1952-53, at the invitation of Dr. Leroy Robertson, he accepted a similar short-term situation at the University of Utah. Dr. Robertson has written of Shepherd:
"I feel a great personal loss in the passing of Arthur Shepherd. As a boy I held him in high esteem as a composer, although I knew of him only by reputation. After our meeting in later years we became close friends."
"With Cyrus E. Dallin and Mahonri Young, two other prominent Utah artists of his generation, Arthur Shepherd has brought widespread respect and renown to our state."
Arthur Shepherd was born in 1880 and died in 1958.
(This biograhy was taken from a 1958 Salt Lake Tribune article written by Lowell Durham.)
The younger generation would not remember his tremendous contributions to our local culture; oldsters will never forget what he did. The past three and one-half decades of his life were spent largely in Cleveland, where he became the most influential moving force in that city's musical development--as music critic for the Cleveland Press, assistant conductor of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, program annotator for the orchestra, concert pianist and chairman of Western Reserve University's first-rate music department.
In the latter post he exerted influence in the nation's national music organizations, particularly MTNA (Music Teachers National Assn.) and NASM (National Association of Schools of Music). And yet, it was in none of the aforementioned capacities that he made his most significant contributions--but rather, in the area of composition. He cut a tremendous swath, both nationally and internationally, as a composer. His works have been widely performed both in this country and abroad. Utah Symphony, under Maurice Abravanel, performed his "Horizons" during the 1952-53 season and his "Overture to a Drama" earlier.
Arthur Shepherd was cosmopolitan in outlook, a recognized figure in the music world; yet, at the same time, he loved his periodic visits to his "home" in Salt Lake City where his brothers Albert and Charles made such lasting contributions in the string and piano fields.
His "Overture to a Drama," composed in 1919, received four performances by the Cleveland Orchestra alone, the last being "illuminated by an impassioned performance under George Szell," according to the feature story in the April 1950 issue of Musical Quarterly.
Arthur Shepherd entered the New England Conservatory at the tender age of 12. There, for five years, he studied with Chadwick, Goetschius and others. Graduating from the conservatory with honors at 17, he returned to Salt Lake City where he remained during the next 11 years. Here he received his "boot" training as conductor of the old Salt Lake Theater Orchestra and the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra, "grandfather" of the present-day Utah Symphony. During these years, too, his star as composer began its ascent. An "Overture Joyeuse" earned for him the initial Paderewski prize of $1,000 in 1902--a good-sized sum by present-day inflation standards.
In 1920, at the age of 40, he moved to Cleveland, remaining there until his death last week.
His best known works, "Triptych," the Second Piano Sonata, and "Horizons," Foundation award in 1928, received performances following its composition by the major orchestras of this country and by others as far off as Paris, Prague and Warsaw.
Upon retiring from his Western Reserve post in 1948, he was immediately signed for guest teaching at Columbia University. In 1952-53, at the invitation of Dr. Leroy Robertson, he accepted a similar short-term situation at the University of Utah. Dr. Robertson has written of Shepherd:
"I feel a great personal loss in the passing of Arthur Shepherd. As a boy I held him in high esteem as a composer, although I knew of him only by reputation. After our meeting in later years we became close friends."
"With Cyrus E. Dallin and Mahonri Young, two other prominent Utah artists of his generation, Arthur Shepherd has brought widespread respect and renown to our state."
Arthur Shepherd was born in 1880 and died in 1958.
(This biograhy was taken from a 1958 Salt Lake Tribune article written by Lowell Durham.)
Extent
35.5 Linear Feet (62 boxes and 3 oversize folders)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Arthur Shepherd papers (1892-2010) consist mainly of original composition manuscripts created by Shepherd (1880-1958), a music composer, conductor, and teacher. Also included in the collection are correspondence, awards, lecture notes, news clippings, biographical information, concert programs, and other materials.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series: I. Compositions. II. Sketchbooks. III. Teaching materials. IV. Biography/personal. V. Composition miscellanea. VI. Music societies. VII. Subject files. VIII. Personal correspondence. IX. General correspondence. X. Miscellanea.; thereunder arranged alphabetically or by type of material.
Separated Materials
Photographs (P0103) and audio-visual (A0103) materials were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.
Processing Information
Processed by Dorothy Van Stipriaan, Helen B. Folland, and others in 1977-1999.
Processed by Emma McFarland in 2011.
Processed by Emma McFarland in 2011.
Creator
- Shepherd, Arthur, 1880-1958 (Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Arthur Shepherd papers
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Dorothy Van Stipriaan.
- Date
- 1977 (last modified: 2011 and 2019)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2011: Finding aid revised and re-encoded by Emma McFarland.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu