William James Robjohn
Alias: Caryl Florio
Life
Born: 1843
Died: 1920
Biography
William James Robjohn was born in Tavistock, Devon, England, and moved to New York with his family when young. He showed his talent as a youth becoming the first boy soloist at Trinity Church in New York City. He was mostly a self-taught musician and went on to sing on the stage as a touring actor. He was often known under the pseudonym Caryl Florio. During his active and diverse musical career, he was organist and choirmaster at Trinity Church, Newport; Zion Church, New York; Mount Cavalry Church, Baltimore, Maryland; and All Souls’ Church, Biltmore, North Carolina. He was opera conductor in Havana and at the New York Academy of Music. He was music director at the Baptist Female Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana, and at Wells College in Aurora, New York. He was conductor of the Vocal Society, the Amicitia Orchestra, and the Palestrina Choir in New York and director of the Choral Society in Asheville, North Carolina. For many years, he was in charge of music at the Vanderbilt estate in Ashville. He died in Morganton, North Carolina. He was successful as a conductor, composer, actor, music critic, performer and accompanist. His significant compositional output includes hymns, songs, part-songs, chamber music, a piano concerto, a light opera, at least two grand operas and two symphonies.
View the Wikipedia article on William James Robjohn.
List of choral works
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Publications
External websites:
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