Professor Marinus Poulsen, violinist, composer, and conductor, was born in Aalborg, Denmark, and at an early age came to Chicago, where he received his education, which he supplemented afterward by a short finishing course in Europe. His teachers were Rabe, Listerman, Falk, and in Europe, Svendsen of Copenhagen. One of his larger compositions is a sacred cantata, "Love Triumphant." In 1923 he won the one-thousand-dollar prize offered by the Chicago Theater for the best tone poem, with "Four Oriental Sketches," conducting its first performance in the Chicago Theater, May 6 of the same year.

Symphonic Poem "Savonarola." This is the first performance of "Savonarola." It pictures the life of an Italian monk in Florence, Italy (1452-1498), who was a reformer and one of the most powerful purifying factors of the Roman Catholic Church. In advance of his time, which was basely corrupt both politically and 2ecclesiastically, he proclaimed his ideas with unswerving fidelity to his convictions. He was tried upon false evidence with two companions and hanged, and immediately upon death the scaffold with the bodies was burned. The dramatization upon which the musical setting is placed, is by Charles Landrup, and in the execution, the dramatist pictures them as being burned at the stake, the music portraying this sort of violent death. He was later canonized by the church for which he gave his life, and was the direct cause of extensive reform and profound good.

The outlines of this work were sketched in Copenhagen a number of years ago, but the work was not completed until the present time. Mr. Poulsen has given free rein to his imagination in the writing of this work. The work is written in sonata form, and begins with quite an extended introduction and an adagio movement in which some of the themes later developed in the allegro con fuoco are heard. The andante in C Major represents the Savonarola theme, and it is the intention of the composer to picture the sturdy fidelity of the Italian monk to his ideals in spite of all opposition, even death itself. During the 3turmoil of the development, one can hear this theme running throughout distinctly, even as the pure character of the man was indestructible in success, in opposition, in life and after death.

Four Oriental Sketches. This number is in the shape of an introduction to the numbers that follow. The original inspiration was found in the following verse:

"Just in the hush, before the dawn, a little wistful wind is born,

A little chilly errant breeze that stirs the grasses, thrills the trees,

And as it wanders on its way, while yet the night is cool and dark, ere the first carol of the lark,

Its plaintive murmurs seem to say, I wait the sorrows of the day."

The Caravan. The intention here is to convey the motion of the caravan, as it stately winds its way across the desert. The swinging motion of the camel is found illustrated in the underlying harmonies. This number ends with the Arab's cry to Allah, as they pitch their tents to rest.

The Temple of Allah. The gongs toll incessantly. This number should be imagined as a prayer to Allah.

In the Balaban and Katz's one-thousand-dollar-prize Symphony Contest for American Composers, ninety compositions were submitted from thirteen different states, including Porto Rico.

Nathaniel Finston, conductor of the Chicago Theater Symphony Orchestra; Richard Hageman, associate director of the Chicago Grand Opera Company, and Adolf Weidig, noted teacher of musical theory, spent months deciding upon the five best for the public performance at which the judges were to select the winner of the one-thousand-dollar award.

The five selected were:

"The Sea God's Daughter," Franz E. Bornscheim; "The Song of Chibiabos," Carl Busch; "Orchestral Suite," Louis Cheslock; "Four Oriental Sketches," Marinus Poulsen; and "Overture Fantastique," Herman Hand.

Professor Poulsen, conductor and composer of "Four Oriental Sketches," was awarded the prize for his orchestral suite. Mr. Poulsen conducted his composition at the final symphony performance of the Chicago Theater Symphony Orchestra of eighty men, on May 6, 1923.

Just a word about the sketch, "A Desert Song." A wandering Arab minstrel happens into the camp of the Caravan, precluding in strange and bizarre harmonies a theme of weird outline, following which he sings an impassioned love song, returning at length to the prelude and ending with a wild dance and loud flourish.