Grider, Rufus

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Grider, Rufus

Grider, Rufus, American Moravian musician and historian; b. Bethlehem, Pa., 1817; d. date and place unknown (sometime after 1873 he wandered away from home and was never heard from again). Raised in the exceedingly rich musical culture of the American Moravians, Grider was a flutist in the Bethlehem orch. and a leading tenor; he was also a poet, artist, and antiquarian. His claim to remembrance stems from his unique and detailed portrayal of Moravian musical life in Historical Notes on Music in Bethlehem, Pennyslvania, from 1741 to 1871 (Bethlehem, 1873).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire