Dorsey Whittington

Dorsey Whittington, c. 1936

Dorsey Whittington was a pianist and music teacher, and was organizer and director of the Birmingham Civic Symphonic Orchestra.

Wittington held degrees from the Institute of Musical Art (1922) and a Musical Doctorate from Boguslarvski College of Music (1934). In 1932, Whittington conducted the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at its first informal concert at Phillips High School, and continued to helm the orchestra as it gained the backing of the Birmingham Music Club and established itself as the city's preeminent symphonic ensemble.

He and his wife Frances were instructors at the Birmingham Conservatory of Music, and he took over for Edna Gockel Gussen as director in 1930. In 1939, the conservatory was folded into Birmingham-Southern College as their music department. Whittington continued to instruct students there until 1944.

The Whittingtons lived in Roebuck Springs in the 1930s and 1940s. Their living room was large enough to hold two grand pianos so they could practice at home for their duo-piano concerts.

BSC holds the annual Whittington Music Competition for its music majors, and allows the winners a chance to perform with a symphony. Whittington's daughter, Naru, became an accomplished pianist herself and married composer Alan Hovhaness.

References

• Musical Alabama Volume 2 (1936) Federated Music Clubs of Alabama. Tuscaloosa: Weatherford Printing Company
• Hamilton, Virginia (April 2, 1989) "Recollections of Roebuck Springs." Accessed June 24, 2008