Willis Page

Willis Page (born September 18, 1918, Rochester, N.Y., died January 9, 2013.), was a musician and symphony orchestra conductor.[1] He conducted three major US orchestras – in Nashville, Tennessee, Des Moines, Iowa, and Jacksonville, Florida. He was also the associate conductor in Buffalo, New York, where he conducted three quarters of all concerts and has been guest conductor for several orchestras including the Boston Pops Orchestra (seven times), Denver, St Louis, Rochester, Hartford, Muncie, Yomiuri, Toronto and Jerusalem.[2] He was the first US conductor of a major Japanese symphony orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. He was the first conductor to hire black musicians in a classical orchestra in the USA.

  1. ^ Scanlan, Dan (January 10, 2013). "Willis Page, Jacksonville's 'Beloved Maestro' dies at 94". The Florida Times-Union (at Jacksonville.com). Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. ^ Who’s Who in America – 2011 edition