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C. M. Cady

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Chauncey Marvin Cady (May 16, 1824, Westport – June 16, 1889, Ashville) was an American music publisher, businessman and composer. One of the best-known men of the trade, his public service to Chicago has been regarded as pivotal to the advancement of the city’s music scene in the mid-19th century. Among the numerous roles of authority he held were as the first music teacher at Illinois State Normal University and the first conductor of the Chicago Musical Union. He was a founder and partner of Root & Cady that dominated Civil War and early Reconstruction-era music publication. Early life and career He was born on May 16, 1824. Chicago career Establishment of Root & Cady No firm attained such success in publishing Unionist music as Chicago-based Root & Cady, “the largest of … the era” and “most prolific producers of wartime music.” It was established in 1858 by Ebenezer T. Root and Chauncey M. Cady and, from 1860 onwards, principally operated by George F. Root. Root was one of the most renowned composers of the Civil War era, with such tunes as “Battle Cry of Freedom” and “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!” to his name. By the war’s opening weeks, his firm was receiving roughly sixty daily su

C. Mortimer Wiske

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Charles Mortimer Wiske (also spelled Whiskey or Wiskey), (January 12, 1853 – July 9, 1934) was an American choral conductor, organist, and composer. Born in Bennington, Vermont, and raised in Troy, New York, Wiske began working as an organist at the age of twelve. In 1872 he moved to New York City where he became a prominent organist and choir director in Brooklyn. He founded and/or led several notable choirs, among them the Amphion Musical Society, the Brooklyn Choral Society, the Orpheus Glee Club, and the Caecilia Ladies Vocal Society. He spent five years as choirmaster for Theodore Thomas and his orchestra. In 1896 he moved to Paterson, New Jersey where he worked for several churches. He was the longtime director of the Patterson Music Festival and Newark Music Festival, the latter of which he founded in 1915. He continued to lead these New Jersey music festivals until his retirement in 1930. In his later life he divided his time between his home in Paterson and a farm/inn he built in Woodstock, New York where he also operated a music camp. Early life and career Born in Bennington, Vermont on January 12, 1853, Charles Mortimer Wiskey (later consistently spelled Wiske) was the s