Born in New Orleans, c1827–9
Died in Paris, France, 1901
His name is sometimes given as Edmund Dédé.
- Edmond Dédé was the son of free Creole parents in New Orleans. His first music teacher was his father, a militia bandmaster.
- Dédé traveled to Paris to attend the Paris Conservatory, where he enrolled in 1857. He saved money for the journey by working in New Orleans as a cigar maker. At the conservatory, he studied with Fromental Halévy, and was friends with fellow student Charles Gounod.
- Dédé was a violinst and conductor as well as a composer. He conducted the L’Alcazar Orchestre for some 20 years.
- Edmond Dédé’s son, Eugène Arcade Dédé, also became a respected composer.1
Sources
- Christopher T.F. Hanson, “Dédé, Edmond,” Grove Music Online (September 16, 2010), accessed June 10, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002087959.