ADOLPH STEUTERMAN AND ORGAN REPERTOIRE IN EARLY-TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICA, 1921-1924

Lensch, Kristin Marie. DMA. The University of Memphis. December, 2020. Adolph Steuterman and Organ Repertoire in Early-Twentieth-Century America, April 1921-June 1924. Major Professor: Dr. Kenneth Kreitner.This dissertation examines the organ repertoire played by the early-twentieth-century church organist, Adolph Steuterman, at Calvary Episcopal Church, Memphis, Tennessee. Very little is known about the repertoire of the American church musician working at this time. Chapter one gives an overview of Steutermans musical training. Chapter two details the context of organ music in the early twentieth century and defines the four categories of repertoire: Classics, Contemporary Works, Characteristics and Exotics, and Transcriptions. Chapters three, four, five and six provide brief analyses of the individual categories of repertoire by examining representative pieces. The Appendices give a full listing of the repertoire, organized alphabetically by composer, by category, and by the number of times played. The study aims to offer a broader awareness of the repertoire used weekly in a prominent mainline Protestant church, situated in a larger city in the early twentieth century, by examining the detailed journal, dated April 1921-June 1924, of the successful young organist, Adolph Steuterman