Ross, Hugh (Cuthbert Melville)
Ross, Hugh (Cuthbert Melville)
Ross, Hugh (Cuthbert Melville) , English-born American organist, choral conductor, and teacher; b. Langport, Aug. 21, 1898; d. N.Y., Jan. 20, 1990. He studied at the Royal Coll. of Music in London and at New Coll., Oxford (D.Mus.), his principal mentors being Mengelberg and Vaughan Williams. In 1921 he went to Winnipeg as conductor of its Male Voice Choir; in 1922 he founded that city’s Phil. Choir, and in 1923 its Orchestral Club, which later became the Winnipeg Sym. Orch. In 1927 he settled in N.Y. as conductor of the Schola Cantorum, which post he held until 1971; also appeared as a guest conductor throughout North America. He taught at the Manhattan School of Music (from 1930); was also chairman of the choral dept. at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood (1941–62). In 1949 he became a naturalized American citizen. He championed contemporary works.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire