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Russell Danburg |
Born: March 2, 1909
Died: October 8, 1994
Born in Miller, South Dakota, he began piano lessons at a very early age. By age 9 he was composing his first pieces, and by age 12 he was giving piano concerts. During his high school years he won many gold and silver medals in district and state contests for excellence in musical performance.
Danburg received his BM degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and his MM degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied composition with Dr. Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers. He also did some graduate work at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.
Though he composed more than a hundred works for all combinations of instruments in all musical forms, he was especially successful in writing pieces for unaccompanied solo instruments. One of his pieces, "Heritage of Freedom," won acclaim in the May 10th issue of Time magazine in 1962; the piece presents the entire inaugural address of John F. Kennedy for symphony orchestra, mixed chorus and three soloists.
Dr. Danburg taught piano, theory and composition at three major universities during his lifetime: Dakota Wesleyan University, Washington State University, and the University of Florida.
Publications by Russell Danburg