 A
home-town boy who made it big, Meredith Willson was born in
Mason City, Iowa on May 18, 1902. The performing bug bit him
early on, but his first love was always his music. At the
young age of 17, he left Mason City to study music in New
York. He soon earned a place with the legendary John Phillip
Sousa band and then the New York Philharmonic. |
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 At
age 27, Meredith began conducting and composing, launching
his extremely successful career as a composer and lyricist.
After composing hundreds of songs, Willson turned to
writing a musical comedy about his state and hometown. Taking
over five years to write, The Music Man opened on
Broadway on December 19, 1957. The show was an instant hit.
A few years later, the movie version of The Music Man
premiered in Mason City at the Palace Theater.
Every time a marching band plays "76 Trombones,"
every time a high school theater department produces The
Music Man, and every time a barbership quartet sings
that old Willson standard, "Lida Rose," he is
brought to mind. Meredith Willson has left his mark on the
world with his first love...his music.
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