Houseley, Henry

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Houseley, Henry

Houseley, Henry, English-American organist, conductor, and composer; b. Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Sept. 20, 1852; d. Denver, March 13, 1925. He studied with Michael Costa and E. H. Turpin, then was an organist in Derby and Nottingham and on the faculty at the Univ. of Nottingham. He settled in Denver (1888), becoming organist at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness (1888–92) and director of the Denver Choral Soc. (1894); he also founded a sym. orch. (1900). His best-known work was the cantata Omar Khayyam (Denver, June 1, 1916). He also wrote 7 operas, some orch. pieces, anthems, ballads, and keyboard music.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire