Organist, writer on the topic of music, and biographer of Stephen Foster
Harold Vincent Milligan was a 19-century professional musician and musical writer. He is best known for his biography about the life of Stephen Foster.
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Early life
Harold Vincent Milligan performed as the orgainist in various churches where his father was the pastor. He traveled widely in his youth and made his way through Washington state, Idaho, Oregon and New York City. In 1907, He studied with William Crane Carl. Carl was the organist for the Old First Presbyterian Church. He taught at the Guilment Organ School. Other teachers instructing Milligan include: T. Tertius Noble, Clement R. Gale, and Arthur E. Johnstone. Milligan also performed at the Guilment Organ School.
Career
After teaching at the Guilment Organ school, he was employed as the organist at the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, New Jersey. He then moved on to Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York. There he stayed for five years. Afterwards, he played two years for Plymouth Church in Brooklyn. In 1915 he became organist at the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church (later Riverside Church) in New York until his retirement in 1940. He served as president of the National Association of Organists (1929–32) and national secretary of the American Guild of Organists (1926–51).[5]
Milligan is best known for his biography of the 19th century composer and lyrisist Stephen Foster. Harold Vincent, 1888-1951 Stephen Collins Foster : a biography of America's folk-song composer / by Harold Vincent Milliga efforts in collecting and editing undiscovered American songs from the 18th-century. Most of these newly discovered manuscripts were written by Francis Hopkinson. Milligan wrote the first biography of Stephen Foster in (1920).
Compositions and other works
Milligan, Harold Vincent, 1888-1951, "Ain't gonna study war no more", arranged by Harold Vincent Milligan. 1924
Milligan, Harold Vincent, 1888-1951 "Album of songs : a collection of twenty favorite compositions by Stephen C. Foster" ; collected and edited by Harold Vincent Milligan. 1921
Milligan, Harold Vincent, 1888-1951 "First American composer" by Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) Editor and augmented. by Harold V. Milligan. 1918
Milligan, Harold Vincent, 1888-1951 Pioneer American composers, a collection of early American songs, edited. and augmented by Harold Vincent Milligan.1921
Milligan, Harold Vincent, 1888-1951 "Stephen Collins Foster : a biography of America's folk-song composer" by Harold Vincent Milligan.1920[6]
