Who was Charles Edward Ives?
• Charles Edward Ives was born in Danbury on October 20, 1874. He was the son of George Ives, the youngest bandmaster in the Union Army during the Civil War. He grew up in a house that was full of music and noises from the street and town in which he lived. • At the age of 14, Charles Ives became the youngest paid organist in Connecticut when he started playing the organ at the Second Congregational Church in Danbury. Ives went to Yale University where he studied music. He completed his first major works while he was at Yale. After graduating he went to work in an insurance agency in New York City. • While his work in the insurance business made him rich, his work on his music made him happy. This music did not make other people very happy. Ives’ music was a mix of different types of music like patriotic tunes and religious songs. When it was played it sounded very loud and strange. His music was very different than the type of music people were used to listening to and so many people
