Biography

Ferde Grofé was born into a talented family. His father was a baritone and actor while his mother was a cellist and music teaching. Following numerous non-musical jobs, he was 17 when he wrote his first commissioned work. He played violin for the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and jazz piano with Paul Whiteman and Orchestra, for which he also served as arranger for many years. His music is usually considered light classical, and often shows a strong jazz influence. Along with Grand Canyon Suite, his most known works include Mississippi Suite and the orchestration of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for Paul Whiteman.
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Composer ("Grand Canyon Suite"), conductor, pianist, violinist, teacher and arranger, home-educated in music studies with his mother and also with Pietro Floridia and Ricardo Dallera, and at St. Vincent's College (where he was awarded an honorary Mus. D.), Illinois Wesleyan University, and Western State College of Colorado. He was a violist with the Los Angeles Symphony for ten years and arranged for several dance bands, and he joined the Paul Whiteman orchestra in 1923 as a pianist and arranger. At Juilliard, he taught orchestration and formed his own ensemble, appearing in concerts and on radio, and as a guest conductor for symphony orchestras as well as with his wife in 2-piano concerts. Joining ASCAP in 1923, his popular-song compositions include "Wonderful One" and "Daybreak". He was the recipient of several awards, including the Griffith Foundation, the Golden Eaglet at the Hollywood Bowl, and a Sinfonia National Honor.
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