Ernest Schuyten

Ernest Eugene Emile Schuyten was born on 7 November 1881 in Antwerp (Belgium). His first advanced musical studies took place at the Brussels Conservatory, where he studied violin under Flor Alpaerts, graduating as a violinist in 1900. He subsequently continued his education at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, completing his studies there in 1903.
In 1911, Ernest Schuyten emigrated to the United States, settling in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he became a naturalized American citizen in 1920. He was appointed head of the violin department at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, while simultaneously establishing himself as an active conductor in the city's musical life. During this period, he conducted the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and, in 1916, founded the Crescent City Symphony, an ensemble that eventually evolved into the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony.
In 1919, Schuyten founded the New Orleans Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts, an institution that became an important center for professional music education in the region. When the conservatory was incorporated into Loyola University New Orleans in 1932, it formed the nucleus of the university's College of Music, and Schuyten was appointed its first dean. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1953. During his tenure, he also conducted the Loyola Symphony Orchestra and played a decisive role in raising academic standards in music education, introducing one of the first Bachelor of Music degree programs in the region for both vocalists and instrumentalists.
Schuyten's contributions to music and music education were recognized with several distinctions. In 1939, he was named a Fellow of the National College of the Dominion of Canada, and he was also appointed a Knight of the Order of the Crown of Belgium in recognition of his artistic and educational achievements.
Ernest Schuyten composed music in virtually every genre throughout his lifetime. However, in 1969, his successful life took a tragic turn with Hurricane Camille. The hurricane struck the New Orleans area and claimed the lives of Schuyten's son and grandson, while also destroying most of his musical papers. Schuyten's granddaughter told me that the loss of the two men was so devastating that he no longer cared about his musical compositions and never returned to composing. Ernest Schuyten died a few years later, on 13 November 1974, in Louisiana (USA).

Violin concerto

Due to the Hurricane Camille incident only a few compositions of Ernest Schuyten have survived. I was lucky to find the only existing manuscript of the Violin concerto by Ernest Schuyten some time ago. The work was written around the year 1932 and the composer intended to write a typical three movement concerto. During the compositional process Ernest Schuyten decided to cut down the work to just one movement. He omitted the existing second and never started a third movement. So finally the work is called „Violin concerto in one movement only“.

The work received its world premiere most likely in December 1932 by Ella de los Reyes (violin), the Loyola College of Music Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the composer. No other performance of this work could be evidenced.