A Woman's New York
Don Gillis Is Going to Be
A Well-Whistled Composer
BY ALICE HUGHES.
NEW YORK, Nov. 3. - Don Gillis - Missouri-born,
Texas-raised, married, age 37 - has the coveted title:
"Radio Producer for NBC Symphony." That means his is
the privilege of working directly for Maestro Toscanini.
Gillis is exalted by the majesty
of Beethoven, Brahms and Bach. they have humorous names like
But his favorite musical idiom is "Portrait of a Frontier Town;"
the "scherzo," "The January-February March;"
which he calls "Lickety-Split;" "Ranch House
the musica 1 Party." A recent author, he has
joke. He likes just completed his first book
humor with his "And Then I Wrote," a light, gay
music, yet at dissertation on the problems of
the same time the American composer. Gilli
he respects the spent the first half of his life)
tradit i o n s of teaching, composing and arrang-
t h e classics, ing music in Southern colleges.
and takes no Since 1933 he has been with
and libertiakes with NBC, constantly growing in
them when he musicality and importance to the
is produwheing radio networks. Remember, his
broadcasts or i g name: Don Gillis. He's going to
conducting live be a well-whistled composer.
concerts. He
has composed
his own clas-
sical sym-
phonies num-
bered from one DON
to, eight, the GILLIS.
latter broa d-
cast and conducted for the first
time last week, and well receiv-
ed. His next symphony will be
the 10th. There'll be no 9th.
Beethoven wrote that one, for all
time, says Gillis.
The test of great music, he
feels, is not its ponderous tradi-
tions, but its present participa-
tion and enjoyment by the peo-
ple. Many current composers
have that gift. He cites Howard
:Hansen, Roy Harris, Morton
Gould, Tom Scott, George Ger-
:shwin, Carpenter and others. T6o
often he has heard conducted in
some symphony hall music by the
great masters. The audience,
formally dressed, their faces
grim and serious, filled half the
auditorium, while next door there
weight be a barn dance or a "pop"
oncert bursting with attendance,
vitality and enjoyment. Tunes,
ven great ones, should be whis-
lable, says Gillis. What helps
nake Verdi as great as he is, is
hat hurdy-gurdic play his music
constantly. It's on everyone's lips.
His own cup of happiness over-
flows, says this talented con-
d u c t o r-composer-producer-and-
)uthor, when he hears some
stranger whistling a tune he
wrote.
He has written many, and
