Secunda, Sholom

As a small child in the Ukraine, Secunda was known as a "boy cantor". He came to America in 1907 and immediately began singing in public. In 1914, he entered the Institute of Musical Art (later renamed the Juilliard School) and his extensive classical training included private lessons with composer Ernest Bloch. To support himself while a young student, he worked as an extra in the Yiddish theater.

While Secunda's first love was classical music, his livelihood came from his Yiddish theater compositions. For the 1916-17 season, he was engaged as resident composer and conductor for Brooklyn's Lyric Theater. In 1932, Secunda wrote the music for M'ken Lebn nor m'lazt nit (I would if I could) starring Aaron Lebedev and Lucy Levine. Included in the score was the song "Bei Mir Bist Du Sheyn" which when sung by the Andrew Sisters a few years later became the most popular worldwide hit of 1939.

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