George Lynn scores and manuscripts

George Lynn was a nationally celebrated choral conductor, composer, organist and college professor. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1915, to parents who had immigrated from Sweden, he became a professional church organist at the age of twelve. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey in 1938. He studied composition with Roy Harris, organ with Carl Weinrich and conducting with Paul Boepple and John Finley Williamson. He became a protégé of Williamson, and returned to Westminster Choir College to teach organ and conducting after serving in the Army in WWII.

At this same time, he studied composition with Randall Thomson at Princeton University, where he received the MFA in 1947. In 1950 he moved to Colorado and taught at the University of Colorado-Boulder for two years, conducting the University and Modern Choirs, and team-teaching a Freshman Humanities course. After this, he served as minister of music for some of the largest churches in Denver, Colorado, composed and maintained a large private voice studio.

In 1963 he returned to Westminster Choir College to become Music Director of the college. Under his direction, the Westminster Choir appeared in concerts across the United States under Columbia Artist Management, and the Symphonic Choir appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the American Symphony under such conductors as Bernstein, Stokowski, Ormandy, von Karajan and Bliss.

In 1969 Lynn returned to Denver, Colorado, in order to devote more time to composition. He was Visiting Composer in Residence at the University of New Mexico in 1971, and was the choral conductor at the Colorado School of Mines and at Loretto Heights College from 1971 to 1986. He was Visiting Professor of Choral Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1986-87. From May 1987 until March 1989, he enjoyed being retired and having the freedom to compose at least five hours a day. He literally composed until the day he died.

George Lynn was a member of the ASCAP and from 1960 on was an annual recipient of their Standard Music Award. His talent was recognized early when he won second prize for composition in the 1938 World’s Fair. His works include approximately 800 choral works, (over 200 of these are published), 4 masses, 3 sacred symphonies, and 23 extended choral compositions. He also wrote 283 songs, approximately 300 organ pieces, 4 piano sonatas, 16 extended piano suites, 196 piano pieces, 3 symphonies, a symphonic suite, 2 overtures, 2 operas, 3 choral-orchestral works, many works for chamber orchestra, 5 string quartets and other chamber music.

His orchestral works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the American Symphony, the Denver Symphony, the Ft. Collins Symphony, the Madison Chamber Orchestra, and the Manila Symphony.