Name: Music of Victor Young
Start: 2025-11-22T19:00:00-06:00
Location: 5400 N Lawler Ave, Chicago, IL 60630-1535, United States

| Tickets $40 | Reservation: 773-467-9000 |
He was born in Chicago, on 8 August 1899, not 1900 or 1901, arriving at the tail‐end of the 19th century. Destined to be a phenomenal creative force in the 20th century, Young apparently fudged his birthyear to 1900 so he would appear synonymous with the new era, not the old. Perhaps his love of innovation and novelty made it inevitable that he would abandon his classical music training as a concert violin soloist, to blaze a trail through the Golden Age of Hollywood film scoring and popular song writing. By the time he suddenly passed away, in 1956, he left behind a musical legacy that would have been a credit to more than one lifetime, writing music not just for film scores, but also radio programs, live theatre, special events, and spoken word recordings. It is this amazing life of musical adventure that we will discover and explore together, when I finish his biography, currently with the working title,
‘I’m Done with Art:’ The Incredible Life and Music of Victor
By the time I was born, Victor Young had been gone for several years. Musical tributes to him were being released by devoted colleagues, but the industry was moving on to ‘upbeat’ scoring methods, where electric guitars, harpsichords, and bongos were featured. Classical scores in the sweeping orchestral style that Young exemplified were in less demand. In the six decades since his death, those who knew him best, those familiar with the industry, and with music composition itself, never found the time to write the comprehensive biography that we all wish was written. Encouraged by members of his family and some Polish musicians I’ve met, I’ve taken on this challenge in a small, focused way, because I fell in love with his music, specifically Stella by Starlight, and want to bring more attention to his vast accomplishments.
I first heard Stella in 1983 while watching The Uninvited on late‐night television, taking a break from studying Quantum Mechanics. My Chemistry thesis advisor taught me how to do research, and I am bringing this discipline and method to uncovering some of Mr. Young’s amazing life and work, and particularly to illuminate some of those little details that were a part of his unique adventure, which I so enjoy reading in biographies. If some future reader gets inspired to follow in Young’s footsteps, or to work harder following their own dream, or to research the technical aspects of his work more deeply, or to discover a piece of Young’s music they never heard before, so much the better. My goal for writing this biography will be achieved.