Frank Siegfried

US violinist, born August 22, 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey – died May 5, 2000 in New York, New York) (his name is often spelled "Frank Siegfield" in discographies.) Siegfried was a student of Efrem Zimbalist (along with Felix Slatkin). Mr. Siegfried graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1933 and joined Local 802 (American Federation of Musicians) the same year, at age 16. He served in World War II as a member of the 369th Army Air Force Band. During the 1930s and ’40s he worked for ten years at Radio City Music Hall, and in 1936-37 was a member of Artie Shaw’s first band. He also worked in bands led by Phil Napoleon, Enric Madriguera, and E. Payson Re. Mr. Siegfried subsequently was a member of the WOR house orchestra and also maintained a busy freelance career, doing such radio dates as the Gulf Program, Palmolive Hour, Celanese Hour, and Ford Hour. He backed up artists including Gordon McCrae, Jo Stafford, Billie Holiday, Andy Williams, Della Reese, Sarah Vaughan, Sammy Davis Jr. and Sam Cooke. He worked many Broadway shows, including "Mexican Hayride," "Carousel," "Two on the Aisle," "My Fair Lady," "How to Succeed in Business," "Jesus Christ Superstar","Annie," and "Peter Pan." He also played on many classical orchestral recordings conducted by Robert Shaw, Erich Leinsdorf, Leopold Stokowski and Igor Stravinsky. Mr. Siegfried was a member of ASCAP and BMI and was president of Avant Garde Records, Inc. and Vanguard Music Corp. from 1968 through 1984.