William Christopher O'Hare  (1867-1943(?))
Last updated: 01.02.24
Here I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Sue O'Hare Attalla, great-grand-daughter of the composer, for providing much of the information given as follows. William Christopher O'Hare was an American composer, orchestrator of popular music born in Washington, D. C. Aged 21, he became the first director of the grand opera house in Shreveport, Louisiana. Whilst in Shreveport O'Hare lived amidst the black community and became interested in ragtime music, promoted it, and developed a style that has led the local historian, Eric Brock, to give him the sobriquet of "The Father of Ragtime in Shreveport." The cakewalk Cotton Pickers (1894) was his first published work giving syncopated hints of what was to come with the much recorded Levee Revels (1898) and Cottonfield Capers (1901). By 1897, O'Hare had become professor of music at Kate P. Nelson's Seminary and at the turn of the century then moved to New York City where joined M. Witmark & Sons as an orchstrator. His great-grand-daughter reports that one of her highlights was to have had the chance to hear several of her great grandfather's silent film pieces used in live film scores at the Buster Keaton Silent Film Festival in Iola, Kansas. He died presumably in New York.

  Title Co-Author(s) Sequencer
       
audiomidi15.gif Levee Revels (1898) Colin McDonald
audiomidi15.gif Sand-Dancers (1907), The James Pitt-Payne
  Title (Release Year) Performers Instruments
       
audiodbemp315.gif Levee Revels (1898) Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. A+D/T/T/B/GB(B)
audiodbemp315.gif Sand-Dancers (1907), The Midi Ragtime Recorder Ens. T/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B)
     Performer CD Title Supplier
       
Ragtime Music CDs:
cd15.gif Richard Egan From the Land of Ragtime
cd15.gif Elliott Adams That Demon Rag flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Alan Martin Everything is Ragtime Now flag15us.gif flag15de.gif
cd15.gif Jack Bradshaw Takes Two [Ragtime Piano Duos] flag15us.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15es.gif
Item Title Available €     £     $     Other
             
DBE788 Levee Revels (1898) - An Afro-American Cane-Hop
A+D/T/T/B/GB(B), approx. 4 mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
DBE789 The Sand-Dancers (1907) - An Afro-American Intermezzo
T/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B), approx. 5 mins.
1-2 days
other.gif
     Title Instruments Remarks
       
sm15.gif Levee Revels (1898) A+D/T/T/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifwvicon.gif
sm15.gif Sand-Dancers (1907), The T/T/T/B+T/B/GB(B) dbe15.gifPub.
     Title Attribution Instruments Source Remarks
           
pdf15.gif Dramatic Allegro (1918) W.C. O'Hare (music) Piano, Orchestra IMSLP wvicon.gif
This list is arranged in chronological order and contains 12 works by William Christopher O'Hare (1867-1943(?)). It does not claim to be complete and represents only the number of items located. Keys: ER pdf15.gif
Title Year Attribution Remarks
       
Cotton Pickers 1894
Awakening of Venus, The 1898
Heliobas 1898
Levee Revels 1898 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  wvicon.gif audiomidi15.gif audiodbemp315.gif
Arrival of Rex, The 1899
Plantation Pastimes 1900  Pub.
Cottonfield Capers 1901  Pub.
Down Georgia 1902  Pub.
Ky-Isses 1904
Sand-Dancers, The 1907 Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble (perf.)  Pub. audiomidi15.gif audiodbemp315.gif
Dramatic Allegro 1918  wvicon.gif
Linden Grove 1925