Person

Deis, Carl

1883-1960

Composer Carl Deis was born, raised and died in New York City. He was the third of seven children, the son and namesake of a German immigrant who was a music teacher and a trombone player. His father taught him piano as a child; he later studied piano with Alexander Lambert and Richard Burmeister and harmony with Abraham Lilienthal; he attended the National Conservatory of Music and the New York College of Music. For many years he taught at various schools: the Peddie Institute for Boys, the Collegiate School for Girls, and the Veltin School. He also worked as a choral conductor and vocal coach. In 1817 he became an editor for the G. Schirmer music publishing company where he worked until 1953, preparing many editions of choral, vocal and chamber music. He made various arrangements for singers and choirs – from Scottish folksongs to religious choral pieces like The Lord’s Prayer. He also arranged Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto for solo piano. His harmonization of “The Song of the Volga Boatmen“ was used for the Cecil B. DeMille film “The Volga Boatman”. Best known for his songs, he composed a cycle of eight works that put the words of poets like Shelley and Tennyson to music. From 1919 to 1933 he played the organ for the Ethical Culture Society and for the Temple Emanuel in New York City.