Etzel Willhoit

Notes:

Etzel received his first violin after the family moved to Arp in Ozark County, MO. He would play for community dances. He graduated from the eighth grade at Barren Fork School. He taught at the Barefoot School (MO) and the New Hope School (AR) before moving to Hominy (OK) where he taught for five years. In 1922 he received his high school diploma and a certificate from college at Edmond (OK). While at Hominy, he was encouraged to attend the Julliard School of Music in New York. There he washed dishes and worked other odd jobs to survive. This determination and talent led to a Master's and Doctor's Degree from the Columbia University. He later went to Austria and France to study conducting and music. From 1929 to 1944, Etzel taught music at the Teanack High School (NJ) and conducted Bronx House Symphony. From 1944 to 1971, he was the Professor of Music at Central Connecticut State College at New Britain and the Conductor of the New Britain Symphony. When applying for a delayed birth certificate, Etzel wrote to the Division of Health in Jefferson City, Missouri, "When I was born, my parents spelled my first name, Etsel. Because of being addressed "Miss" and also finding it in the dictionary with a "Z", at about the age of 24, I changed the spelling of my first name from Etsel to Etzel."

Obituary: Etzel Willhoit, a founder, director, and conductor of the New Britain Symphony Orchestra, died July 31, 1991 in Littleton, CO. He was ninety and lived in Littleton.
Willhoit also had been a music professor at what is now Central Connecticut State University. He began teaching at Teachers College of Connecticut in 1944 and stayed at what became Central Connecticut State College for 26 years, serving as music department chairman for many of those years.
During his tenure, Willhoit expanded the department so a music major could be offered.
He restarted the New Britain Symphony Orchestra in 1949 and served as its director until 1967. He prided himself on never conducting a major work twice.
After retiring from CCSC in 1970, Willhoit and his wife, Sara, sold their home and traveled around the world for fifteen years, settling for a few months at a time in different locations. They eventually settled in San Diego, CA, and moved to Littleton in recent months.
Born in Longrun, MO, he got a job at age seventeen teaching music and penmanship at a Missouri school. After becoming principal, Willhoit began studying with a violin teacher in Oklahoma who recommended that he go to the Juilliard School in New York City.
He received his doctorate from Columbia University and holds a three-year certificate from the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg, Austria. He also studied conducting in Austria, France and Mexico; choral conducting with Robert Shaw at Tanglewood; and violin at the Juilliard School.
In addition to his wife, he leaves two sons, Etzel Willhoit of Littleton and Robert Willhoit of Luxembourg; and several grandchildren.
He was buried Monday in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City.
Published in the Hartford Courant on August 10, 1991.

Family/Spouse: Sara Elizabeth Pringle. Sara (daughter of Samuel Russell Pringle and Elizabeth Thoman Stuttig) was born on 8 Dec 1910 in New York, USA; died on 14 Apr 2007. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]