January 6, 2010(2010-01-06) (aged 81) Nashville, Tennessee
Genres
Country music
Occupation(s)
Musician and arranger
Instrument(s)
Violin
Life and careerEdit
Sheldon Kurland was a native of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Samuel and Beatrice Kurland and brother of Elaine Todd Koren. His parents were strong advocates of the arts and his father started teaching Sheldon the violin and Elaine the piano when they were five. Both children had great musical talent however Elaine enjoyed writing more and eventually became an accomplished author.[1][2][3][4] Sheldon continued to be taught by his father, at the Henry Street Settlement and with Ivan Galamian until he entered Juilliard School in New York City, where he was trained as a classical musician. As a boy, he was a winner of the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, a popular radio show in New York City. After receiving a master's degree, he began his professional career at Cornell University as a professor and touring with the Cornell University Trio. In 1964 he moved to Nashville to accept a faculty position at Peabody College.[5][6][7]
After arriving in Nashville, Kurland began performing as a session musician for producers such as Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley who were creating a new "Nashville sound" that incorporated classical strings in place of the fiddle sound that had characterized country music. He was to play on tens of thousands of sessions, often as leader of a group credited as the Shelly Kurland Strings. In the late 1960s he resigned his teaching position to become a full-time musician.[5]
Music writer Robert K. Oermann credits Kurland with playing a major role in the "sweetening of the sound" that gave Nashville recordings a "crossover appeal" during the 1970s, when "the Shelly Kurland Strings were on everything."[5] The group was a perennial winner of annual "Super Picker Awards", recognizing the musicians who performed on the most number-one records in the previous year.[6][7]
Kurland and his wife Barbara were parents to three children, including movie sound artist Peter Kurland, director of innovative school programs Wendy Kurland, and Bluebird Cafe owner Amy Kurland. One of his violins and other memorabilia are in the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. His music awards were among the music items that decorated the walls of the Bluebird Cafe.[5][6][7][8]
Kurland retired from music in the 1980s. He died in Nashville on January 6, 2010, at age 81.[5][9] His book, An Adult Guide to the Orchestra, was published posthumously.[10][11]
ReferencesEdit
^Suzanne of Love and Art. Maverick Press (2001). 2001. ISBN0967235529.
^"'An Adult Guide to the Orchestra' Available for Purchase at the Schermerhorn Symphony". Nashville Arts Magazine. November 28, 2010.
^An Adult Guide to the Orchestra. Darkhorse Books. 2011. ISBN978-0615526782.
October 20, 2023
sheldon, kurland, sheldon, shelly, kurland, june, 1928, january, 2010, violinist, musical, arranger, worked, session, musician, nashville, provided, arrangements, number, prominent, country, musicians, also, known, asshelly, kurlandborn, 1928, june, 1928brookl. Sheldon Shelly Kurland June 9 1928 January 6 2010 was a violinist and musical arranger who worked as a session musician in Nashville and provided arrangements for a number of prominent country musicians Sheldon KurlandAlso known asShelly KurlandBorn 1928 06 09 June 9 1928Brooklyn New YorkDiedJanuary 6 2010 2010 01 06 aged 81 Nashville TennesseeGenresCountry musicOccupation s Musician and arrangerInstrument s ViolinLife and career EditSheldon Kurland was a native of Brooklyn New York the son of Samuel and Beatrice Kurland and brother of Elaine Todd Koren His parents were strong advocates of the arts and his father started teaching Sheldon the violin and Elaine the piano when they were five Both children had great musical talent however Elaine enjoyed writing more and eventually became an accomplished author 1 2 3 4 Sheldon continued to be taught by his father at the Henry Street Settlement and with Ivan Galamian until he entered Juilliard School in New York City where he was trained as a classical musician As a boy he was a winner of the Major Bowes Amateur Hour a popular radio show in New York City After receiving a master s degree he began his professional career at Cornell University as a professor and touring with the Cornell University Trio In 1964 he moved to Nashville to accept a faculty position at Peabody College 5 6 7 After arriving in Nashville Kurland began performing as a session musician for producers such as Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley who were creating a new Nashville sound that incorporated classical strings in place of the fiddle sound that had characterized country music He was to play on tens of thousands of sessions often as leader of a group credited as the Shelly Kurland Strings In the late 1960s he resigned his teaching position to become a full time musician 5 Music writer Robert K Oermann credits Kurland with playing a major role in the sweetening of the sound that gave Nashville recordings a crossover appeal during the 1970s when the Shelly Kurland Strings were on everything 5 The group was a perennial winner of annual Super Picker Awards recognizing the musicians who performed on the most number one records in the previous year 6 7 His credits as an arranger included Half the Way and When I Dream for Crystal Gayle and I Wouldn t Have Missed It for the World for Ronnie Milsap Other name musicians he worked with included Johnny Cash Neil Young Waylon Jennings Willie Nelson Dolly Parton George Burns Jimmy Buffett Conway Twitty Eddy Arnold Amy Grant Hank Snow Bobby Bare Kris Kristofferson George Hamilton IV and Reba McEntire 5 Kurland and his wife Barbara were parents to three children including movie sound artist Peter Kurland director of innovative school programs Wendy Kurland and Bluebird Cafe owner Amy Kurland One of his violins and other memorabilia are in the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville His music awards were among the music items that decorated the walls of the Bluebird Cafe 5 6 7 8 Kurland retired from music in the 1980s He died in Nashville on January 6 2010 at age 81 5 9 His book An Adult Guide to the Orchestra was published posthumously 10 11 References Edit Suzanne of Love and Art Maverick Press 2001 2001 ISBN 0967235529 Minor Incident Maverick Press 2012 The World of Cornelius Magee Maverick Press 2013 Flexible Guidance Center for Applied Research in Education 1973 1973 ISBN 0876281188 a b c d e f Cooper Peter January 6 2010 Sheldon Kurland violinist string arranger dies at 81 Tennessean com a b c Paid Death Notice Kurland Shelly New York Times January 9 2010 a b c On the passing of Shelly Kurland Peter s father FilmNashville January 9 2010 Laura Ewald The First Lady of Nashville GW Magazine George Washington University Fall 2006 Sheldon Kurland Obituary Nashville Tennessee Tributes com Retrieved January 19 2013 An Adult Guide to the Orchestra Available for Purchase at the Schermerhorn Symphony Nashville Arts Magazine November 28 2010 An Adult Guide to the Orchestra Darkhorse Books 2011 ISBN 978 0615526782 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sheldon Kurland amp oldid 1119091707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
