Maurice Whitney — organist and oboist

This is the latest in an occasional series of posts about Maurice Whitney, head of music at Glens Falls School District for 25 years.

Maurice Whitney was well known in the Glens Falls area as a teacher, composer, conductor and organist.

He also was an oboist.

“He plays the oboe and at various times has been first oboist in seven different orchestras, such as Albany Philharmonic, Schenectady Symphony, Cornell University Symphony,” The American Organist magazine reported in an article about Whitney in its March 1946 issue.

The article, which was re-published March 22, 1946 in The Post-Star, said that Whitney began his organist career at the Baptist Church at Rupert, Vt., in 1925, and moved on to First Methodist Church of Ithaca, NY in 1930.

In 1932 he became organist at First Baptist Church in Hudson Falls, and in 1937 at Christ Church Methodist in Glens Falls, where he was long-time organist and choir director in addition to his teaching work at Hudson Falls and later Glens Falls school districts.

In 1946, he directed an adult choir of 35 singers and three children’s choirs at Christ Church.

In other Maurice Whitney history, on Feb. 1, 1946, The Post-Star reported that Whitney led the Christ Church choir in several selections of music by Stephen Foster as past of a special program at Christ Church.

The Rev. Walter J. Benedict, Christ Church pastor, presented a book review of “He Heard America Singing,” a Foster biography by Claire Purdy.

Slides from the private collection of Professor Ralph Moore of New York City were shown.

Click here to read the most recent previous post in this series.