James Hotchkiss Rogers
| James Hotchkiss Rogers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
February 7, 1857 Fair Haven, Connecticut |
| Died | November 28, 1940 (aged 83) Pasadena, California |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, teacher, critic, publisher |
| Instruments | Organ |
James Hotchkiss Rogers (Fair Haven, Connecticut, February 7, 1857 – Pasadena, California, November 28, 1940) was an American organist, composer, teacher, music critic, and publisher.
James was born to Martin L. and Harriett Hotchkiss Rogers in Fair Haven, Connecticut, descended from a family of "old New England stock". He began studying piano by the age of twelve and organ with Clarence Eddy in Chicago. At the age of eighteen he went to Berlin, Germany, where he studied for two years with Carl August Haupt and Rohde, followed by two years in Paris, France, where he studied with Alexandre Guilmant, Henri Fissot, and Charles-Marie Widor. He worked for a year in Burlington, Iowa before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, where he established himself primarily as an organist. Rogers married Alice Abigail Hall on 20 October 1891 and had two children, Stewart and Marian.
In addition to his organist positions at the Euclid Avenue Temple (a position he held for 50 years), he taught at the Cleveland School of Music and served as a critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He was not a harsh critic: even when Isadora Duncan danced in an outrageous red costume in 1922, Rogers simply wrote, "all things considered, the orchestra did very well." Rogers explained his role was not to discourage but rather to encourage and advise. He also published some of his own music and those of others.
Upon his retirement from the Cleveland School of Music, he was honoured by 500 musicians and friends at a farewell dinner. He moved to Pasadena, California, where he died. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery.
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