Clarence Dickinson

Clarence Dickinson (b. Lafayette, May 7, 1873 – d. 1969) – Organist, composer, and conductor. Clarence Dickinson received a general education at Miami University (Ohio) and Northwestern University. He then studied music formally in Berlin and Paris. The first phase of his professional career was in Chicago, where he headed the Cosmopolitan School of Music, founded the Musical Arts Society, and served as organist for the St. James Episcopal Church for three years. In 1909, he relocated to New York to become organist and choirmaster of Brick Presbyterian Church. From 1912 to 1945, he served the Union Theological Seminary, eventually becoming its Director of the School of Sacred Music. While living in New York, he also conducted the Mendelssohn Glee Club and the Bach Choir of Montclair. A founding member of the American Guild of Organists, Dickinson presented organ concerts and lectures throughout the United States, Canada, France, England, and Spain. In celebration of his 90th birthday, he conducted a choral festival at the Riverside Church in Manhattan. He was particularly well-known in New York, where he gave two regular series of historical performances. As a composer, he focused on sacred choral works and pieces for organ. Along with his wife, Helen A. Dickinson, he compiled the Choirmaster’s Guide (an important reference book, H. W. Gray, 1924). He and his wife also collaborated on the The Technique and Art of Organ Playing (H. W. Gray) and Excursions in Musical History (H. W. Gray, 1917). For his outstanding work and devotion, Dickinson came to be known as the Dean of American Church Musicians. In 1997, sixteen members of the American Guild of Organists formed the Clarence Dickinson Society, which has grown to well over a hundred members.