Secunda, Sholom, 1894-1974

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Composed music for "Bei mir bist du schön" and other songs.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : New York, N.Y., to Helen, [1965 Mar.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270910495

Born in 1894 in the Ukraine, Sholom Secunda was a composer, arranger, director and critic who came to New York in 1907 and entered the Institute of Musical Art (later renamed the Juilliard School), where he trained with composer Ernest Bloch. Secunda's first love was classical music, but he first supported himself while a young student working as an extra in the Yiddish theater. He found considerable early success as a composer and director in theaters such as Brooklyns Lyric Theater and Maurice Schwartzs Yiddish Art Theater. In the 1940s he expanded into radio and worked as the music critic for the Jewish Daily Forward. In 1951, he wrote music for the Broadway review, Bagels and Lox. From 1945 to 1973 he was the music director of the Concord Hotel, where stars of the Yiddish theater (and many of the great stars of Broadway, Vaudeville, television, and movies) regularly appeared. At the Concord he also composed large amounts of Jewish liturgical music and regularly conducted performances of classical music with well-known classical musicians and opera singers. His compositions have been successful both inside and outside the Yiddish theater with hit songs sung by such artists as the Andrews Sisters and Joan Baez. His last musical score was for the 1973 production of Sholom Aleichem's Shver tsu Zayn a Yid, considered the last great production of the Yiddish stage. Frequent collaborators were lyricists/singers Jacob Jacobs and Molly Picon.

From the description of Sholom Secunda papers, ca. 1926-1971. (New York University). WorldCat record id: 473382329

Relation Name
associatedWith Budmor, Moshe Max, 1923- person
associatedWith Crook, George. person
associatedWith Jacobs, Jacob. person
associatedWith Park Avenue Synagogue Choir (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Park Avenue Synagogue (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Park Avenue Synagogue (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Picon, Molly. person
associatedWith Putterman, David J., 1900-1979. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York (State)--New York
United States
New York (N.Y.)
United States
United States
Subject
Theater
Choruses, Sacred (Mixed voices, 4 parts) with organ
Jewish composers
Folk songs, Yiddish
Jews
Music
Musical theater
Performing arts
Psalms (Music)
Psalms (Music)
Sacred songs (High voice) with organ
Songs, Yiddish
Songs, Yiddish
Sound recordings
Synagogue music
Synagogue music
Theater, Yiddish
Theatrical companies
Occupation
Arrangers
Composers
Activity

Person

Birth 1894-09-04

Death 1974-01-13

Americans

Yiddish,

Hebrew,

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 179074