Jacques Singer

Jacques Singer (né Jakob Singer; 9 May 1910 Przemyśl, Poland – 11 August 1980 Manhattan, New York) was an American violinist and conductor.

Singer was born in Przemyśl, Poland, trained in the violin from an early age, and began to give concerts in Poland at age seven. In 1920, his family moved to the U.S, settling in Jersey City. In 1925 Jacques made his American debut with a recital at The Town Hall, New York. He attended on a scholarship the Curtis Institute of Music in 1926, where he studied with Carl Flesch. He began attending the Juilliard School in 1927, studying with Leopold Auer, Paul Kochanski and Rubin Goldmark, and graduating in 1930. He became a naturalized citizen in 1931.

While at Juilliard, he became a violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age eighteen, their youngest member at the time. Leopold Stokowski took an interest in him and requested he conduct a contemporary piece at one of the rehearsals in 1935. From watching Stokowski, he picked up several of the maestro’s practices: conducting without baton (or score at times), making instructional comments to an audience, and stopping performances during disturbances. These he employed as conductor of the orchestra’s youth orchestra in 1936.

On a recommendation from Stokowski, Singer made his conducting debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on February 1, 1938. He remained with that orchestra 1938-1942. Audience reaction to his style and personality was positive, and the symphony budget doubled and subscriptions tripled. While there he became engaged in a feud with critic John Rosenfield (né Max John Rosenfield, Jr.; 1900–1966) of The Dallas Morning News. Rosenfield lauded Singer early on, but soon turned against him. Singer became angry enough to print handbills and make speeches defending himself during concert intermissions.

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