Abstract
From the 1960s until his death in September of 2000, Lee Erwin championed silent films, silent film music, and the theater organ. Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama during the first quarter of the twentieth century, Lee Erwin (1908 – 2000) was an organist for several of the country’s great movie palaces during the silent film era. From 1930 until 1931 Erwin studied in France with organist André Marchal and with Nadia Boulanger. Upon returning to the United States, Erwin began his lengthy career in radio and television working with Arthur Godfrey. In 1967, Erwin was commissioned by the American Theater Organ Society to compose organ music for the Gloria Swanson film Queen Kelly. It was this film that led his career back into the consoles of the great American theater organs. He toured extensively playing thousands of concerts of organ music during silent film showings. Erwin, believing that cue sheets originally compiled for these films during the silent film era were “full of the musical cliché’s of the 1920s,” composed new scores to over 100 silent films. In addition to preserving this unique art form through his performing and composing, Erwin also worked with several pupils. These pupils, including Jeff Weiller and Ben Model, work full time composing and performing, striving to keep this genre of art music alive.
This thesis discusses the life and music of Lee Erwin, with emphasis on the film music he composed after 1967 and his role in preserving the art of silent film accompanying. His educational background will be examined as well as his compositional style and aesthetic. The body of this thesis serves as an introduction and index to the Lee Erwin Collection, an archive of documents pertaining to the life and compositions of Lee Erwin. The Lee Erwin Collection will be housed at the Library of the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
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