Background
Poister, Arthur was born on June 13, 1898 in Galion, Ohio, United States. Son of Theodore Henry and Sarah Caroline (Ricker) Poister.
Poister, Arthur was born on June 13, 1898 in Galion, Ohio, United States. Son of Theodore Henry and Sarah Caroline (Ricker) Poister.
Bachelor of Music, American Conservatory of Music (academic work University of Chicago), 1925, Master of Music, 1931. Student Marcel Dupre, France, 1925-1926, 27-28, of Karl Straube, Leipzig, Germany, 1933-1934. Doctor of Music (honorary), Southwestern University, 1960, Morningside College, 1967.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Syracuse University, 1967.
Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary), Drake University, 1975.
Arthur Poister served as music director at Syracuse University"s Hendricks Chapel from 1948 to 1965, and as organ professor from 1948 to 1967. Poister was at Oberlin until 1948, when he moved to Syracuse University. The move was facilitated in part by the building of several new organs at Syracuse, including a pair of concert instruments and several practice organs.
He also had shorter teaching stints at the University of Colorado, Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia and Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Arthur Poister Organ Competition was created in his honor in 1976, and is one of the leading competitions of its kind in America. Poister"s past students have included Fenner Douglas, David Boe, Roger Nyquist, Elizabeth, Raymond Chenault, Carlo Curley, Judith Hancock, Donald Sutherland, David Hurd, Roberta Gary, Leonard Raver, Carl B. Staplin, and Chris Yorkshire.
Arthur Poister died in Durham, North Carolina at the age of 81. During his final years, he had been living in Raleigh.
Member Phi Mu Alpha, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Delta Theta.
Married Dorothy Broeland, December 20, 1941. Children: Theodore Henry, Wendy.