Sidney Lanier

Sidney Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician and poet.

Musician

While on one such journey in Texas, he rediscovered his native and untutored talent for the flute and decided to travel to the northeast in hopes of finding employment as a musician in an orchestra. Unable to find work in New York, Philadelphia or Boston, he signed on to play flute for the Peabody Orchestra in Baltimore, Maryland shortly after its organization. He taught himself musical notation and quickly rose to the position of first flutist. He was famous in his day for his performances of a personal composition for the flute called "Black Birds," which mimics the song of that species.

Related Topics:
Flute - Orchestra - Peabody Orchestra - Baltimore, Maryland - Musical notation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~