Graupner, Johann

Graupner, Johann (Christian Gottlieb) (1767–1836) musician, composer; born near Hanover, Germany. An oboist who had played under Haydn, he came to the U.S.A. in 1795. In Boston he opened a music store, published, taught, played, and composed. He founded the pioneering Boston Philharmonic Society in 1810 and, in 1815, the still-extant Handel and Haydn Society. He has been called "the father of American orchestral music."