Los Angeles County
Biographies
HARLEY HAMILTON
HAMILTON, HARLEY, Conductor Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles, Cal., was
born in Oneida,
N. Y., March 8, 1861, the son of Erastus H. Hamilton and Susan C. (Williams)
Hamilton. He married Nellie E. Ferris at
Tustin, Cal., June 29, 1887. There is one child, Viola Hamilton.
Mr. Hamilton’s education was derived from private schools and
tutors in New York. He studied music from his earliest childhood
and was graduated from the New York College of Music in 1882, having paid his
own tuition by working on a daily newspaper.
His health
became impaired, and soon after his graduation he moved to California,
on a ranch near Los Angeles. After a few months he moved to Los Angeles to practice
his art. He remained for about two years,
then went to Boston
for more complete study. In 1886 he
retuned to Los Angeles
and immediately opened a studio for violin instruction and also became one of
the leading professional musicians of the city.
In 1892 he
organized the Woman’s Orchestra of Los Angeles, which, in 1912 completed its
twentieth year of existence. In 1898 he
organized the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, assuming the duties of Conductor,
as which he has continued. This
organization has had an important bearing on the musical advancement of the
city and has given Los Angeles
the distinction of being one of the few cities boasting a Symphony Orchestra.
Mr.
Hamilton has devoted himself to the interpretation of good music rather than
composition, and during his twenty-five years in Los Angeles has made three trips to European
musical centers for study. He enjoys a
splendid position professionally and is a member of the City, Gamut, and Los
Angeles Athletic Clubs. He is a
thirty-second degree Mason, Shriner and Knight Templar.
Transcribed
By: Michele Y. Larsen on 17 November
2011.
Source: Press Reference
Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 842, International News Service,
New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2011 Michele
Y. Larsen.
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