Biographical/Historical Information
Warner Seelig-Bass was born in Brandenburg an der Havel in 1915. He studied at the University of Berlin and at the State Academy for Music (Staatlich-Akademischen Hochschule für Musik), before becoming assistant conductor and composer of stage music for the Kassel State Theater. After being dismissed in 1933, he was conductor for the Jüdischer Kulturbund Theater, where he conducted both symphonic and operatic performances. In 1938 he emigrated to the United States by way of Cuba, and settled in New York, where he became known as Warner S. (Seeley) Bass. In 1941 Warner S. Bass married the Polish-born singer Marion Koegel, who performed in the United States under the name of Marion Corda. Warner Bass was called to military service in 1943, eventually heading a military orchestra that performed in Europe for both the armed forces and civilians. After the war he toured Europe and other parts of the world as part of the United Service Organization (USO). His appearances as guest conductor included directing the New York Philharmonic, the NBC Symphony of the Air, and the Detroit Opera. In 1962, Bass became Associate Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stowkowski. The American Symphony performed two of Bass's own compositions: his "Adagio (Taps) for String Instruments, Trumpet, and Percussion," written in memorial of John F. Kennedy and directed by Bass in Carnegie Hall, and his "Song of Hope," which was played under Stowkowski's direction. Warner S. Bass died in 1988.
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Citation
Warner S. Bass : [conductor], Leo Baeck Institute, F 5890A.