Biography

Emerson was born in Parsonsfield, Maine

Parsonsfield, Maine

Parsonsfield is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,584 at the 2000 census. Parsonsfield includes the villages of Kezar Falls, Parsonsfield, and North, East and South Parsonsfield...

 on August 3, 1820. He attended Parsonsfield Seminary and Effingham Academy, originally planning to be a doctor. Later he studied music under Isaac Woodbury. He taught for eight years in Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

. He then served as organist and musical director in various churches in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, and was the director of about 300 musical festivals and conventions.

Emerson died September 29, 1915 and is buried in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

.

Works

Emerson compiled several collections of church music, including "The Romberg Collection" (1853); "The Golden Wreath" (1857); "The Golden Harp" (1858); "The Sabbath Harmony" (1860); "The Harp of Judah" (1863); "Merry Chimes" (1865); "Jubilate" (1866); "Emerson's Vocal Melody" "The Voice of Worship" (1879); and "Anthems of Praise (1886). The tune "Sessions" is one of his most enduring.