Alfred Burt was born in Marquette, Michigan. His family moved to Pontiac, Michigan when he was two after his father, Bates Burt, became pastor of an Episcopal church there. At the age of 10, having shown an early interest in music, Alfred received his first musical instrument, a cornet, as a present from his parents. Though he would learn to play several other instruments, including the piano, Alfred spent most of his life playing cornet and trumpet in bands and orchestras, with a special interest in jazz. Burt studied music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1942. A tradition that the elder Burt had begun upon moving to Pontiac in 1922 was the creation of a Christmas card, which he sent to family members and parishioners. On these cards were original Christmas carols, with both the words and music by the Reverend Burt. For the family Christmas card in 1942, Bates asked his son to write the music for that year's carol, "Christmas Cometh Caroling." From then on, Alfred would write the music for the family's Christmas cards, and the "Alfred Burt carols" were born. Through the early part of 1953, Burt complained of a persistent virus and fatigue. Eventually agreeing to a thorough examination, he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He spent his final months in California. For the first time, his carols were going to be recorded. James Conkling, husband of Donna King Conkling, and at that time the president of Columbia Records, was informed of Burt's failing health and organized the project, assembling an all-star choir of Hollywood singers (from the King Family Singers) to perform Burt's four-part harmonies. Recording sessions for the older carols took place in late 1953 in the North Hollywood LDS Church with Burt present. Meanwhile, to fill the album, Burt was assigned four new carols. One of them, "O Hearken Ye," was sent on the 1953 family Christmas card. Burt finished the last of his carols, "The Star Carol", on February 5, 1954. Less than 24 hours later, he died. "The Star Carol" would be used on the final Burt family Christmas card that holiday season. The original analog recordings have been out of print for several decades now and in an effort to save these original recordings, Classical Music Discoveries was able to restore the original recordings in full digital format. This lost and out of print recording is now available on our CD store at www.ClassicalRecordings.co for only $1.99 as a digital download. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to own this extremely rare recording today. Please click on the link below to support Classical Music Discoveries. Your kind donation of ANY amount is greatly appreciated! You can purchase our recordings by visiting our online store at: www.ClassicalRecordings.co The new CMD Portable Digital Recording System was designed specifically for Classical Music Discoveries for recording classical music. This system is also used by the CMD Grand Opera Company of Venice, the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and the CMD Philharmonic Orchestra of Paris. To learn more about this system please click HERE. Show your support for Classical Music Discoveries by becoming a Friend!Click HERE to become a Friend of Classical Music Discoveries Our Sponsors: La Musica International Chamber Music Festival Southwest Symphony Orchestra Advertisers in this show are: Advertise on CMD for Only $5! Southwest Symphony OrchestraLa Musica International Chamber Music FestivalClassical Recordings StoreA FREE Gift for Our Listeners Sousa Fundraising - please donate $1 today! Anne Vanschothorst Play My Music Our next edition of Play My Music broadcasts on January 21, 2015To have your music played on this show, please visit our submission site below: CMDPlayMyMusic.com
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