Van Alstyne, Egbert

Egbert Van Alstyne Composer Merango, Illinois, March 5, 1878; Chicago, Illinois, July 9, 1951. Van Alystne was a musical prodigy who played the organ for Sunday school when he was seven years old, and was given a scholarship to Chicago Musical College, the Juilliard of its day. It was run by Florenz Ziegfeld, Sr., whose son would create the famous revue series, the Follies. During the first decade of the twentieth century, it was unusual for composers of popular music to have any formal…