Conrad Gebelein was born in 1884 in Bavaria. He emigrated to the United States as a teenager, and settled in Baltimore. Having been trained as a musician, he soon found work playing in dance bands, and eventually studied at the Peabody Conservatory. He gave private music lessions, and also organized a banjo club, the city's first mandolin orchestra, and played the first live music on WBAL-AM in the late 1920s as the leader of a radio orchestra.
His association with the Johns Hopkins University began in 1924 and lasted nearly fifty years. He served as director of instrumental musical programs, directed the glee club, and the Reserve Officers Training Corps band. He was also a familiar figure at lacrosse games, where he directed the Hopkins band.
From the description of Papers, 1924-1981. (Johns Hopkins University). WorldCat record id: 147997521
