The information on this American Music preservation website
was researched and written by Roger Lee Hall, a musicologist and music preservationist
who has been active in American music for over 50 years...

 




 


Personal Profile

 

Roger Lee Hall has been one of the most productive researchers and writers working to uncover many topics of American music from the past and help preserve it for the future.

For more than 50 years, he has produced over 100 music publications and recordings.

See his PineTree Multimedia Editions (PTME) - click here

He is Album Producer for the American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC) - click here


His other accomplishments:

ASCAP Composer of instrumental and vocal music published by PineTree Music.

Cable Television Producer for two cable TV series: "In Concert" and "Now and Then."

Conductor of choruses, including the Old Stoughton Musical Society - America's oldest surviving choral society, organized in 1786.

Ethnomusicologist studying and performing religious music of the Shakers.

Managing Editor, Film Music Critic for Film Music Review.

Music consultant for Boston Camerata, National Geographic Society, Sampler Records and others.

Musicologist for various publications on film music, church music, folk music, popular music.

Lecturer on various music topics including folk music of the Shakers, film music and vintage songwriters.

Radio host of program featuring music from 1930s to 1950s.

Teacher of music classes in college and a progressive adult education program.

 

 

Professional Recognition

Because of his considerable accomplishments is so many areas of music,
Mr. Hall has been listed in various professional directories, including
both International Who's Who in Music, Who's Who in America and other directories.


 


Here are two AMRC CDs with his music:



 


 

He completed his Ph.D. dissertation in Musicology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
While collecting research for his dissertation, he arranged several Shaker tunes for chorus in 1974 for a major conference celebrating the bicentennial of the Shakers arrival in America, held at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. His research involved the music of the North Union Shakers, a community that existed in the 19th century in what is today Shaker Heights, Ohio.
His research has been published and now available as a PDF book titled --

 

Music Teaching

Also while at Case Western Reserve University, he taught his first music class. He was then teaching assistant for the well-known Cleveland disc jockey, Bill Randle, who had introduced Elvis Presley on national television in 1956. Randle invited Mr. Hall to teach his class on the History of American Popular Music. Later, he compiled a multimedia disc about the disc jockey titled: The Bill Randle Chronicles

During the 1980s and 1990s, he taught courses in music listening and film music at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts; and classical music, film music and popular music for the Brookline Adult and Community Education Program (BA&CEP) in Massachusetts, where his classes were equivalent to college-level music courses and were very popular with the adults who attended.

Cable Television

In addition to teaching, he has produced and hosted several series for cable television: "In Concert" and "Now and Then" - featuring local musicians, actors and local citizens. These are a few of the composers featured in these programs: William Billings, Dudley Buck, Stephen Foster, Edwin Arthur Jones,
Oliver Shaw, Randall Thompson.

 

Music on Radio

For many years he was a guest on radio stations in the Boston, Massachusetts area, including the popular program, "Music America" hosted by Ron Della Chiesa on WGBH-FM, where he was a frequent guest talking about American classical music, popular songs.

In 1989 on "Music America," he announced the first of his annual Sammy Film Music Awards.

In 1993, he hosted his own four-hour nightly radio program, featuring popular music from the 1930s, '40s and '50s and with special highlights like Top Ten Big Band Themes, Songs of World War II, and the weekly "Wednesday Night at the Movies."

A few years later he wrote a booklet about music on the years of old-time radio titled:




 

 

 

Music research

As musicologist and ethnomusicologist, he has spent many years researching, editing and performing music from two of the oldest singing traditions in the USA:

 

The Old Stoughton Musical Society (OSMS) is now the oldest surviving choral society in the USA, founded in 1786. As OSMS Historian, Roger Hall organized two music festivals: "Musick in Old New England" (1978) and "Musick in Old Boston" (1980), featuring music scholars and concerts by local musicians. Also, he produced a cable television series, "In Concert," and he conducted the chorus for several years plus he composed music for them to perform.

In 1985, he wrote and narrated a 30 minute documentary about the Old Stoughton Musical Society which was shown on local cable television.

Five years later, he produced a one hour video documentary titled, "A Stoughton Musicfest."


 

Also, he wrote several historical plays about music from the past:

"The Grand Constitution" (1987)

"William Billings Teaches A Singing school" (1990)

See his extesnive multimedia collection titled:

"DEDICATION" - Singing in Stoughton, 1762-1992


To read about the Stoughton Music Heritage Series -- click here

 

 

 

His latest publication in 2024

Now available in a new edition!

For the 250th anniversary of the Shakers arrival in America in 1774
and the only meeting of several Shakers with Aaron Copland in 1974.

To read about this title -- click here

See the list of his 25 multimedia publications --  click here

 

For 50 years he has been presenting music lectures and research papers
at scholarly conferences, historical societies, libraries and more.

See the list of his music lectures and workshops -- click here

 

 

 

Now Available in the Memories and Music Series!

 

His latest book with stories about some of the songs that were most important in his life:

"Gentle Peace" - Songs For Survival (PineTree Press, 2023)

Read about his book --

click here

 

 

 

 


 



For over 50 years, he has researched and edited music by the Shakers, America's oldest surviving religious communal sect. Also, he has interviewed Shaker singers about their music and composer Aaron Copland about his arrangements of the popular Shaker song, "Simple Gifts" (aka: Tis the gift to be simple).


The following CDs have music edited or arranged by Roger Hall:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1999, he edited the recordings and wrote the notes for a 72 page booklet which accompanied the largest recorded sessions of the Shakers singing and speaking about their music from 1960 to 1980,

 

Let Zion Move: Music of the Shakers (Rounder Records, 2 CD set)

 

 

This highly-rated CD is now available:

 

 

 

 

 

Lectures and Workshops

He has been a prolific lecturer and has presented over 100 programs and workshops
on various music topics.

For a list of his music lecture and workshop topics -- click here

 

 




A Deluxe Multimedia Collection

 

 

To read about this title -- click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composer-in-Residence

Roger Lee Hall is the composer-in-residence
for this website.

His compositions are available exclusively from PineTree Music.

 

 

 

Director of the American Music Recordings Archive (AMRA)

click here

 

 

 

 

Director of the Center for American Music Preservation (CAMP)

click here

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Album Producer for AMRC CDs

 

See the complete catalogue --click here

 

 

 

 

 

Managing Editor, Film Music Review

 

 

 

 

Director, Sammy Film Music Awards,
named in honor of lyricist, Sammy Cahn

 

 


PineTree Multimedia Editions (PTME)

See the list of titles

click here

 

 

 

 

New England Music Archive

click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Some of his numerous articles:


"Shaker Hymnody: An American Communal tradition"
in Journal of Church Music, Volume 17/ Number 8 (October, 1975).
Reprinted in The Hymn, Volume 27/Number 1 (January 1976)

"An Interview with Sir Michael Tippett"
in Journal of Church Music, Volume 20/ Number 4 (April 1978)

"Singing Stoughton"
in Journal of Church Music, Volume 22/Number 1 (January 1980)

"Simple Gifts: Shaker simplicity in song"
in The Shaker Messenger, Volume 2/ Number 2 (Winter 1980)

"An Interview with Aaron Copland"
in Journal of Church Music Volume 24/ Number 2 (February 1982)

"An Early American Auld Lang Syne"
We're History - Online site (2016)

"Simple Gifts" - The Discovery and Popularity of a Shaker Dance Song
in Communal Societies, Volume 36, Number 2 (2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music lectures and workshops

 


See the list of his lectures, webinars and workshops

click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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