Edwin Arthur Jones, an American composer, was called "one modest man who knows the power of music" by Edward Everett Hale, author of The Man Without a Country. This modest man, from a rural Massachusetts town about 20 miles south of Boston, composed some very significant works. These include a masterful cantata and a large oratorio in three parts, modeled after Handel's Messiah. A composer is a person who writes music. ... Alternative meanings: Boston (disambiguation) The 18th-century Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries. ...

Early Life and Education

Edwin Arthur Jones was born at 9 Pearl Street in Stoughton, Massachusetts on June 28, 1853. After studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in violin, organ and harmony, Jones entered Dartmouth College in 1872. Stoughton is the name of some places: In the United States of America: Stoughton, Massachusetts Stoughton, Wisconsin In England: Stoughton, Surrey Stoughton, Leicestershire This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses of the name Dartmouth, see Dartmouth Dartmouth College is a private university in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a member of the Ivy League. ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

That same year, when he was only 19, Jones was a violinist among the approximately 20,000 instrumentalists and singers who played at the World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival in Boston, organized by bandmaster Patrick Gilmore. One of the special invited guests was the Viennese composer, Johann Strauss Jr, who performed some of his popular waltzes. Alternative meanings: Boston (disambiguation) The 18th-century Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries. ...

E.A. Jones graduated from Dartmouth College in 1876, where he was Class President, Director of the Dartmouth Glee Club, First violinist in the Dartmouth College Orchestra, one of the editors of the college newspaper, and Captain of the Dartmouth baseball team. 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

First Compositions

After graduation, he went to Baltimore to help his family run a store. His first major composition was a delightful set of waltzes for solo piano, The Farewell Waltzes, which he had composed while at Dartmouth College. This composition was published in Baltimore in 1874. He also made an arrangement for chamber orchestra. This article is about the city in the US state of Maryland. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Six years later, in 1880, his First String Quartet was performed at the Peabody Concervatory in Baltimore, where it was well received. He then returned to his home town in Massachusetts. 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Orchestra Leader and Composer

After returning to Stoughton, Jones formed his own orchestra of 20 musicians. A photo of his orchestra from 1885 is found in E.A. Jones: His Life and Music.

In 1881, he composed his masterpiece — a large cantata for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra, Song of Our Saviour. This cantata was never performed during his lifetime and received its world premiere over one hundred years later on May 3, 1992. The cantata was a reworking of an earlier composition, The Nativity Hymn, one of only four to receive honorable mention in 1879 in the Cincinnati College of Music competition, judged by the distinguished American conductor, Theodore Thomas. 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1991 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The other major choral work by Jones was his three part oratorio, Easter Concert, published in 1890 in a piano-vocal score by White-Smith Music Publishing in Boston. The orchestral parts have not been located. 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Besides his two large choral works, Jones also composed other choral works, solo songs and chamber music, and only a few orchestral works.

Jones was a member of the two choral societies in town: The Stoughton Musical Society, founded in 1786 and now the oldest choral society in America, and The Musical Society in Stoughton, founded in 1802, disbanded in 1982. He was largely responsible for the Stoughton Musical Society's invitation to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Organized in 1786, this is currently Americas oldest choral society. ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1802 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... World Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 The World Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago Worlds Fair), a Worlds fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbuss discovery of the New World. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Civic Leadership

E.A. Jones is also remembered for his participation as a member of the School Committee and Superintendent of Schools, Trustee of the Public Library, President of the Fortnightly Club, and Secretary of the Chicataubut Club.

In addition, he designed the Stoughton Town Seal in 1892. It is perhaps the only one with a special music logo in it — designating the oldest choral society in the United States. Today, there is a school in Stoughton named after him, just across the street from where he lived. 1892 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

He died at his family's home on Pearl Street on January 9, 1911, at the age of 57. January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

External Links

• Edwin A. Jones and history of the Stoughton Town Seal

• Music from Stoughton

• Old Stoughton Musical Society

References

E..A. Jones: His Life and Music (Old Stoughton Musical Society, 1984)

"Jones, Edwin Arthur" in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, Vol. Two (MacmillanPress, 1986)

Music in Stoughton: A Brief Survey (PineTree Press, 1989)

Ten Town Tunes, Music from Stoughton, 1770-1990 (PineTree Press, 1998)