Roger Lee Hall is a respected composer and musicologist who has traveled his own road of tuneful discovery for over 50 years in American classical, folk and popular music.
He is now Director of the Center
for American Music Preservation (CAMP), which is devoted to help preserve American music from the past so it can come alive again -- go here
Also, he is the Album Producer for the American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC) to present American classical, folk and pop music recordings -- go here
He has been active in these areas as: Album Producer, Cable Television Producer, ASCAP Composer, Conductor, Film Music Critic, Lecturer, Music Preservationist, Music Teacher, Radio Disc Jockey, and Writer.
For cable television, he produced a series of music programs about America's oldest surviving choral organization,
The Old Stoughton Musical Society, where he served as Vice-President and Historian -- go here
He is Founder and Managing Editor of Film Music Review (FMR), an e-zine which has been available since 1998 and there have been hundreds of reviews and articles published over the years.
His book on the subject is titled: A Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores. To read about the latest 9th edition of the book -- go here
As a teacher, he taught classes in classical music, American popular songs, and film music, in college and in a progressive adult education program in Massachusetts.
For his many accomplishments in music he has been listed in International Who's Who in Music, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Education and other directories.
"Dream World" is one of his books in the memoir series, "Memories And Music," about his early years writing pop songs, poems, and personal stories -- go here
His first published popular song, "The Soho Serenade," was copyrighted in 1964 and recorded one year later.
His first classical work, "Variations on an Original Oriental Melody" for solo piano was published in 1984.
Both these compositions are included on this limited edition AMRC CD:
Some of his sacred compositions are available on this AMRC CD:
A Special 50th Anniversary Program
"Tis the gift to be simple" - Aaron Copland Meets The Shakers In Shaker Heights - 7 November 2024
On November 9, 1974, Composer Aaron Copland met several Shakers from Maine while both were in Ohio. This meeting was arranged by Roger Lee Hall and it was the only time they met.
One month earlier,
Mr. Hall was the conductor of a community chorus at the two day conference in Cleveland celebrating the bicentennial of the Shakers arrival in America in 1774,
sponsored by the Western Reserve Historical Society.
In that program,
he led the chorus in his edition of a North Union Shaker hymn, "On The Landing Of Mother Ann In America."
That Shaker hymn is included in his new multimedia publication, "A Shaker Music Miscellany."
The meeting of Aaron Copland and several Shakers from Sabbathday Lake, Maine took place in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Copland was in the area as an invited guest of the Cleveland Orchestra who were celebrating "Aaron Copland Week."
Mr. Hall's program included a discussion of the Copland meeting the Shakers plus about the Shaker dance song and some of the later arrangements by other non-Shaker musicians,
including a popular one based on the Shaker tune by Sydney Carter, "Lord of the Dance."
The origin of the Shaker song was discussed and also arrangements of "Tis the gift to be simple"
which has been performed at the inauguration ceremonies for three different U.S. Presidents: Ronald Regan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama.
See his 90 minute Zoom program now available on YouTube -- click here.
To read about Roger Hall's two books on the Shaker song, see this web page -- Joseph Brackett's Simple Gifts.
If you would like to inquire about a web program on this subject or a similar one about the American Shakers history with music, write to Mr. Hall -- here
Online programs presented by Roger Lee Hall and sponsored by New York Adventure Club.
The Golden Age of New York Disc Jockeys" - presented 26 September 2024
This webinar is sponsored by the New York Adventure Club. Here are some of the comments about it from past web programs:
"Roger imparted a lot of knowledge about the era." -Virginia
"I enjoy all of your webinars, but this was the best yet. Mr. Hall is knowledgeable, pleasant and his selections were superb." -Doris
"Clear, organized information presented in an interesting format." -Robert
"I liked that the host was an actual disc jockey and knew so much information." -April
"I most enjoyed the host’s insights and knowledge about radio personalities with whom I was not strongly familiar." -Bruce
The date of this webinar is Thursday, 26 September 2024, starting at 8:00 p.m. If unavailable at that time you can watch for up to one full week at your convenience.
See the page on Remembering Radio -- click here
"Otto Kahn: A Personal Connection with the Gilded Age Music Patron" - presented 17 October 2024
In 1954, Roger Hall
began his music activities by singing in the glee club as a young cadet at Eastern Military Academy then located in the former Oheka Castle of Otto Kahn, completed in 1919 on Long Island and it was the second largest estate built in the USA. Learn about the wealthy investment banker, Otto Kahn, who help support such musicians as Fred Astaire, Enrico Caruso, George Gershwin and others.
His son, Roger Wolfe Kahn, had his own jazz orchestra and also co-wrote a few songs, including the big hit, "Crazy Rhythm," during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and that song title is also
the tile of one of Mr. Hall's books in the Memories And Music series.
Sponsored by the New York Adventure Club in their series about the Gilded Age.
The date of this webinar is Thursday, 17 October 2024, starting at 8:00 p.m. If unavailable at that time you can watch for up to one full week at your convenience.
For more information, see Memories of Oheka Castle and Mr. Hall's book, "Crazy Rhythm" -- go here
Some comments from past webinars on Otto Kahn:
"Lots of great pictures. Very interesting. Cute touch. And loved the music. It got my feet tapping." - Connie
"Hall is passionate and personal! Wonderful lecture! Thank you! - Mary
"Very good material and clear explanation. Most interesting" - Robert
"Having grown up less than a mile from Oheka, I still learned things from this event." - Ellen
"Roger Hall was extremely knowledgeable about Otto Kahn and the arts scene in the early 20th century. The pictures and music in his presentation made the webinar come alive." - Marsha
"I liked the photos of Kahn's homes, back story knowledge." - Elizabeth
"Very thorough and learned a lot more than I already knew about Otto Khan." - Jessica
"Very informative. Lots of visual aids. Host really knew the subject matter." - Nancy
Read about Otto Kahn and Oheka Castle -- click here
"The Music of Film Noir in New York City: Legacy of Hollywood Genre in Gotham" - presented 1 November 2024
These are some of the film scores to be discussed:
LAURA (1944) - music score by David Raksin
THE LOST WEEKEND (1945) - music score by Miklos Rozsa
THE NAKED CITY (Universal, 1948) – music score: Frank Skinner and Miklos Rozsa
THE WRONG MAN (Warner Bros., 1956) – music score: Bernard Herrmann
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (United Artists, 1957) – music score: Elmer Bernstein
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (United Artists, 1959) - music score: John Lewis
Some of the comments from those who previously watched this popular film noir webinar sponsored by the New York Adventure Club:
"Interesting to learn what was shared about the defining elements of Noir (and the better translation of the term), highlights in its history, and the like." - Robert
"The presenter was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject matter. Thank you, NYAC, for yet another fascinating and informative webinar!" - Harold
"Well organized and interesting. Very knowledgeable presenter." - Ronald
"Including the music, and the composer, as part of the experience--first time I've seen that. Bravo." - Marsha
"Knowledgeable and passionate speaker." - Mary
Read more at Film Music Review, an e-zine on the web since 1998 -- click this link
Anniversary Tributes On American Composers in 2024:
"William Billings and Singing in Stoughton" - in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the William Billings singing school held in Stoughton, Massachusetts in 1774,
which led to the musical society which is now the oldest one in the USA, organized in 1786.
Read about early singing in Stoughton, Massachusetts -- go here
"A Guide to George Gershwin" -- celebrating the 100th anniversary of the popular "Rhapsody in Blue," there are more illustrations
in the updated version of the Guide with information about Gershwin's popular songs, concert works, radio programs and films -- go here
"Memories of Henry Mancini" -- for the 100th anniversary of the popular film composer's birth, a tribute included in A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC, 9th edition -- go here
Biographical Profile:
Roger Hall was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
His first music training was as a young cadet in a glee club at Eastern Military Academy (E.M.A.) on Long Island.
He has written a book about his days at E.M.A. at the former estate of wealthy investment banker, Otto H. Kahn, and
his music performance at the Friends of Oheka Garden Party in 2004.
His book is titled: "Crazy Rhythm" - Memories of Eastern Military Academy and Oheka Castle.
Following his military service in the U.S. Army serving in Germany in the 1960s,
Mr. Hall
attended Rutgers University where he graduated in1970 with a B.A. degree in
Music Theory and Composition.
He composed his first classical works while at Rutgers.
Two years later, in
1972, he was awarded his M.A. degree in Ethnomusicology from the State University of New York at Binghamton
(now Binghamton University).
He wrote the first Master's Thesis ever written about the music of the Shakers.
He did his Ph.D. studies
in Musicology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where his specialty was
Shaker music and music from earlier America, including popular music.
Also, he was the teaching assistant for the popular Cleveland disc jockey, Bill Randle, who had promoted Elvis Presley in his early career and introduced him on his national television debut in 1956.
Since Bill Randle was not able to teach his college class, Roger Hall taught that course: "The History of Popular Music in America."
Mr. Hall has written about this popular Cleveland disc jockey in his book titled, The Bill Randle Chronicles: From Electric Elvis to The Shakers.
Mr. Hall has been a music consultant for various activities, including these:
-the music of Tonga for the National Geographic Society LP album (1972)
-the music of Colonial America for the Paul Revere House in Boston (1981)
-two music collections: Love is Little - A Sampling of Shaker Spirituals (1992) and Joy of Angels - Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and The New Year (1995)
-the best-selling CD, Simple Gifts - Shaker Chants and Spirituals by The Boston Camerata (1995)
-the DVD titled, "Emerson: The Ideal in America" for The Ralph Waldo Emerson Institute (2007)
-the CD, "It's Magic," commemorating the 100th birthday of movie lyricist, Sammy Cahn (2013)
His One Act Plays:
"The Grand Constitution" (1987)
"The Musical Telephone" (1988)
"William Billings Teaches A Singing School" (1990)
"The Canterbury Pilgrims" (2018)
Music Compositions:
He is a longtime member of ASCAP and has composed over 100 classical and pop song compositions and many have been recorded.
To see his list of his compositions published exclusively by PineTree Music-- go here
Early American Choral Music:
He has spent considerable time researching and producing recordings for two singing traditions which are among the oldest in the United States of America:
Music of the Shakers -- from the 18th to 20th centuries, the Shakers composed well over 10,000 original songs, hymns and anthems, more than any other communal society in the U.S.A. Their best known song is "Simple Gifts" (also known as: 'Tis the gift to be simple), and he has written two books about that song. He has presented numerous Shaker music concerts and lectures at museums, schools, churches, historical societies and colleges. Also, he has edited and arranged Shaker spirituals for performance. See the list of his books and music collections below.
The (Old) Stoughton Musical Society -- organized on November 7, 1786, this is now America's oldest choral society. They have performed American music longer than any other chorus in the U.S.A.
Their Constitution was written in 1787 just a few weeks after the United States Constitution.
They were first called The Stoughton Musical Society and the "Old" was added to their name when incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1908. William Billings, America's first prominent choral composer, taught a singing school in that town in 1774 and he wrote a tune titled "Stoughton," which Roger Hall has edited and added a text by Isaac Watts. That hymn was premiered in 1986 for the Bicentennial of the Old Stoughton Musical Society. Hall was also Historian for this musical society and Chairman of the 1986 Bicentennial Season and prepared several concerts for that anniversary. In addition, he has prepared a series of publications about music from Stoughton's musical past.
Album Producer:
He has produced over 50 CDs for the American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC) label
highlighting music in the United States from over three centuries.
To see the complete list AMRC titles -- click here
Publications:
Books and Booklets
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