Lund, Jack H.

Biographical/Historical note

Jack H. Lund was born in San Francisco on January 10, 1913 but spent the early years of his life in Berkeley. He attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in the Class of 1935. During the Second World War he served in the army and achieved the rank of Major. Following the footsteps of his father, Jack Lund worked for the Friden Calculating Company for twenty-five years and became its Sales Promotion Manager before he retired in the 1960s. It was during Lund's retirement years that he was able to pursue his primary interests, tennis and music.

As an avid follower of tennis, Jack Lund attended 31 Wimbledon championships and 25 French championships, and he maintained friendships with many of the best known American tennis stars. Lund himself played tennis with the California Tennis Club until he was 91.

Jack Lund's musical interests were focused on classical music, particularly German lied and opera. He was also a great admirer of Arturo Toscanini, and in addition to attending many Toscanini concerts, he became a member of the Toscanini Society and collected significant amounts of related memorabilia. Lund built a massive record collection that featured the greatest classical singers of the time as well as performances of Toscanini. He attended many of the European music festivals and was a strong supporter of the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Through his attendance and support of musical events he established friendships with numerous prominent musicians and was particularly outgoing when musical artists came to perform in San Francisco. It was not unusual for Jack Lund to entertain his musical friends at his apartment which boasted beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay and Berkeley. He was a great admirer of Kirsten Flagstad, Gerard Souzay, and Ignaz Jan Paderewski, and he could count among his friends such singers as Aksel Schiotz, Dame Janet Baker, Elly Ameling and Jessye Norman, as well as pianist Dalton Baldwin. Lund also became friends with the esteemed French music teacher Nadia Boulanger, and at one point he sat in on her classes at Fontainebleau-- probably the only non-musician ever to do so.

Although Jack Lund never considered himself to be a musician, he spent much of his time keeping himself informed about the music world through reading, concert attendance and ongoing communication with artists and record collectors. Jack Lund died on November 27, 2009, and as per his request, there was no funeral or memorial.