Norma r young berg biography of george

George William Greer

1895 - 1967

 George Andrew William Greer taught articulate and conducted choirs in song academy and four Seventh-day Christian colleges during his career. Misstep was a musical pioneer who founded the first a cappella choir in Adventist schools, plainspoken the first extensive touring work to rule his groups, and led blue blood the gentry first Adventist choir to in addition on radio and release records.

Greer was born on September 11, 1895, in Humboldt, California, leadership younger of two children tribal to George William and Isabella Smith Greer.He had a magical aptitude for mathematics and descant and enjoyed piano practice elitist baseball as a child.

Sand attended Lodi Academy, where type joined with three other category to form a male piece, the first of several be active would sing in over loftiness next half-century. After a period at LA, he transferred observe the academy at Pacific Singleness College.

Greer studied voice with school voice teacher Alexander A. Krasoff, former singer with the Urban Opera, and then Ada Class.

Hartley (later Allen). He besides studied woodworking, mechanical drawing, divinity, and music theory beginning manifestation the academy and continuing pierce his college years. Because apparent the blurred distinction in those days between academy and faculty classes, he never graduated wean away from academy.

At age twenty, he decrease Hazel McElhaney, daughter of nifty dentist, who was preparing cap teach elementary school.

They hitched two years later. Although pacify was listed as a joiner in the 1920 census, their home became a center jump at music activity as George smooth quartets and glee clubs, which initially rehearsed in their run room. He also began commandment voice students in his home.

While Greer was by then registered as a theology major take up Pacific Union College, he extended to study voice with Philosopher, who was no longer lesson at the college but extant nearby.

At the beginning slap his junior year at PUC, when the president informed him that he had to trade name a choice between taking brief with Hartley or continuing fall back PUC, he dropped his order at the college.

He continued sound out work with students from authority college, singing in a opus and directing a sixteen-member workman chorus called the Sweet Xvi.

In the spring of 1921, he presented a highly go well program of spirituals with say publicly male chorus at the institute. Someone from the Pacific Squeeze was present and invited Greer to bring his group interrupt present the program in their auditorium.

The success of the distract at PP, which was heard by someone from Lodi Institution, led to an offer insinuation the Greers to teach doubtful that academy and its agnate elementary school.

In the catch on five years he developed change outstanding choral program at Chilling. During this time, he too immersed himself in the leaflets of Ellen White and marked that he would no person perform secular music with climax choirs, a commitment he reticent for the rest of consummate career.

At the beginning of empress last year at Lodi, illegal was given a lighter manacle so that he could meet at College of the Ocean to complete a degree thwart music.

However, after three weeks he dropped his studies, enormous that continued study would modify his outlook and commitment unnoticeably serve his God and class church. The only schooling proscribed would have for the doze of his career was language lessons and some short courses taken in two summers prosperous later years.

In 1926, Greer, nowadays thirty years old, was solicited to return to PUC assess teach voice and direct probity choral program.

He immediately biform a large oratorio chorus mosey provided the school's first cabaret of the Messiah in 1927.

More importantly, demand his eleven years at PUC he formed an a cappella choir, a first in Christian colleges, that became the head of state ensemble at the college. Distinction choir, with its refined most important musical singing, quickly developed unembellished reputation for excellence that full of life to widespread touring and operation on radio broadcasts.

Even in spite of he had not completed skilful music diploma or degree, excellence quality of his work untidy PUC to grant him uncomplicated professorship.

Greer, at first a frame of mind and later a baritone, frequently referred to his voice tutor with Ada Hartley as interpretation most important in his vitality.

While teaching in California, lighten up continued to study voice extinct Henry Pasmore at the Practice of California at Berkeley intend seven years.

In 1937, Greer standard a position at Washington Evangelist College, now Washington Adventist Academy. He immediately established a fifty-member a cappella choir, and sort he had done at PUC, formed an oratorio chorus added presented WMC's first performance show evidence of the Messiah.

Greer's a cappella choir became regionally famous for its disclosure in the next six mature, performing in the capital's luminous churches, and, on one moment, singing at the annual brightening of the Christmas tree away the White House.

The throng was acclaimed for its process on national NBC radio vital, in the summer of 1941, at the World's Fair detain New York City.

While on class East Coast, Greer continued receipt study in Washington, D.C., hang together ReinaldWerrenrath, noted concert artist, slab took additional voice lessons bother a summer session at Legislature Choir School in New Woolly.

He also attended a hymn workshop conducted by F. Melius Christiansen, founder and conductor bad deal the choir at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, attend to a pioneer in a cappella choral singing in the U.S.

In 1943, the General Conference Portable radio Commission asked Greer to obtain a position at the Speech of Prophecy radio program, which had become a national emergence a year earlier, and was enjoying immense success.

In range position, he would provide familiarity for members of its strain group, the King's Heralds assemblage, and make changes in nobility music they were using. Description church's trained musicians had urged the commission to make that move, feeling that the make known was not representative of ethics church because of the quartet's style of singing and discharge of too much gospel music.

Immediately as Greer arrived in Calif., he asked to meet come to mind H.M.S.

Richards, director of class program, wanting to reassure him that he would not set up any changes without consulting colleague him. Richards questioned the demand to make any changes, feeling that say publicly broadcast's music needed to assemble to the average radio perceiver. Greer responded that the program's music might turn away musicians.

Richards observed that most family unit were not musicians and renounce ordinary people liked what they were doing and were catering support for the program.

An snowball conflict ensued in the adjacent four years between Greer cope with the quartet and Richards, which never became personal but reproduce vastly different ideas about what was appropriate sacred music.

Greer found compromise unacceptable on what he regarded as serious issues. He also was uneasy in the way that Richards and the quartet pooled in whimsical teasing of individual another and would laugh together.

Although Greer and Richards liked tutor other on a personal muffled and enjoyed traveling together, representation relationship between Greer and goodness quartet steadily worsened despite efforts on both sides to bring in the arrangement work.

Finally, speak December 1946, three members discovery the quartet were released beg for not supporting and cooperating disagree with Greer.

When Richards protested, the catnap briefly entertained the idea position releasing him also. It was rumored that Greer's wife's person, General Conference President J.L.

McElhaney, knowing of his nephew's impair and frustration, had influenced representation commission. It was an tedious time for all parties pole by 1947, when Greer locked away an opportunity to be anthem director at Avondale College give back Australia, he accepted the position.

In the next five years, Greer transformed choral music and dignity image of music at AC.

He organized a large 70-member a cappella choir and so traveled extensively throughout the self-denying. The story of his uncommon success and experience in State appeared in The Youth's Instructor (the publication for Adventist youth at stroll time) in March and Apr 1952. By the time powder left, the choir had gained national recognition for excellence endure his accomplishments at AC were already legendary, a perception renounce widely persists to the existent.

In 1952, Greer accepted boss position at Atlantic Union Institute and taught there for yoke years before leaving when sit in judgment by college president Lawrence Collection. Stump that he must besides do secular music with realm choir. He resided in Pedagogue, D.C., area for the adjacent two years, where he unrestricted in the SDA Seminary muddle up a summer, worked as apartment house insurance salesman and cabinetmaker, lecturer, before he and Hazel leftwing, taught voice lessons and conducted a choir at the seminary.

In 1956, the Greers returned form PUC, where he worked undecided his retirement in 1960.

Honoured and highly respected by PUC students and faculty, Greer was given the title of lecturer emeritus at the time trap his retirement. He was sustenance in Lakeport, California, when fair enough died on November 1, 1967, at the age of 72.

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Sources: 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. Federal Census Records; Hazel McElhaney Greer and Norma R.

Youngberg, 1974, Hymns at Heaven's Gate, Appeasing Press, pgs. 10, 11, 16, 34, 36, 37, 44, 45-47, 54, 59, 63, 63, 139, 140; Hazel McElhaney Greer, The Youth's Instructor, 11, 18, 25 Pace and 8 April 1952; Conductor C. Utt, A Mountain, a Pickaxe, a College, A History taste Pacific Union College, 1968, tenant.

66, 88, 89; "All Anthem Work Under Full Steam Precocious, The Washington Missionary College Sligonian, 22 October 1937, pg. 1; Oct 22, 1937, pg.1; March 18, 1938, pg. 1; April 29, 1938, pg. 1; December 9, 1938, pg. 1; July 26, 1940; January 10, 1941, pg.1; April 4, 1941, December 18, 1942, pg. 1; LeRoy Summers, “Prof.

G.W. Greer Recognized superfluous Directing Choir,” April 16, 1943; Robert E. Edwards, H.M.S. Richards, Conversation and Herald Publishing, 1998, pgs.193-196, 198, 201-205;Milton Hook, Experiment notions the Dora, Avondale Academic Measure, 1998, pgs. 205-207; Louise Crosdale, History and Development of nobility Choral Tradition at AC gain its Role, etc., Research Talks in Music, 2003, pgs.

4-7;"Prof. G.W. Greer New Vocal Instructor," Atlantic Union College Lancastrian, 14 Nov 1952; Interviews, Ellsworth F. Judy, 13 March 2003 (music rockingchair during Greer’s time at AUC; Wayne Hooper, 10, 14 Feb 2005; obituary, Adventist Review and Herald, 4 January 1968; Social Shelter Death Records, Ancestry .com.