Background
Kraft, Edwin Arthur was born on January 8, 1883 in New Haven. Son of John Jacob and Maria (Krohne) Kraft.
Kraft, Edwin Arthur was born on January 8, 1883 in New Haven. Son of John Jacob and Maria (Krohne) Kraft.
He studied music at Yale University under Horatio Parker before becoming became the organist at Saint Thomas"s Church in Brooklyn, New York He then went to Europe for three years, studying organ with Grunecke in Berlin and Alexandre Guilmant and Charles-Marie Widor in Paris.
Upon returning to the United States he took the position as organist of Saint Matthew"s Church in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1907 he was chosen from among 90 applicants as the organist of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland. In 1914 he moved to Atlanta to work as municipal organist but he returned to Trinity Cathedral the following year.
Kraft also served as director of music at Lake Erie College and as head of the organ department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
He finally retired from his position at the cathedral in 1959. He died on July 15, 1962 and was buried in the Mausoleum of Knollwood Cemetery.
Fellow American Guild Organists. Has made many organ transcriptions, including Tschaikowsky’s Nutcracker Suite, 1812 Overture, et cetera
Married Nancy I. Lovis, December, 1909. Married second, Marie Simmelink, May 17, 1926. Children: Margaret Elizabeth, Nannette, Edwin Arthur.
