Converse, Frederick Shepherd

(kŏn´vûrs), 1871–1940, American composer, b. Newton, Mass., studied with J. K. Paine and G. W. Chadwick and in Germany with Rheinberger. His Pipe of Desire (Boston, 1906) was performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, in 1910; it was the first American opera performed there. His orchestral works include Flivver Ten Million (1927) and American Sketches (1929). He was dean of the faculty (1930–38) of the New England Conservatory of Music.