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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Hugo David Weisgall (13 October 1912-11 March 1997) was an American composer and conductor born in Ivan?ice, Moravia, then part of Austria-Hungary and later Czechoslovakia. He moved to the United States as a child, studied at the Peabody Conservatory and the Curtis Institute, and earned a Ph.D. in German literature at Johns Hopkins University. He also led the Baltimore String Symphony, Baltimore Alliance Symphony Orchestra, and New York Chamber Opera Guild Orchestra.
Hugo David Weisgall (13 October 1912-11 March 1997) was an American composer and conductor born in Ivančice, Moravia, then part of Austria-Hungary and later Czechoslovakia. He moved to the United States as a child, studied at the Peabody Conservatory and the Curtis Institute, and earned a Ph.D. in German literature at Johns Hopkins University. He also led the Baltimore String Symphony, Baltimore Alliance Symphony Orchestra, and New York Chamber Opera Guild Orchestra.


Weisgall trained at Camp Ritchie. A 1943 newspaper report identifies him as a technical sergeant assigned to London as a liaison between the United States and governments in exile. While serving in the Army, he conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall on 29 July 1943 before an audience of about 6,000 for the premiere of his overture "American Comedy 1943," which he had begun while training at Camp Ritchie. The performance was reported as the first time an American had conducted the BBC orchestra in its promenade-concert series.
Weisgall trained at Camp Ritchie. A 1943 newspaper report identifies him as a technical sergeant assigned to London as a liaison between the United States and governments in exile. While serving in the Army, he conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall on 29 July 1943 before an audience of about 6,000 for the premiere of his overture "American Comedy 1943," which he had begun while training at Camp Ritchie. The performance was reported as the first time an American had conducted the BBC orchestra in its promenade-concert series.