The birth of Edmund Dédé in 1829 is celebrated on this date.


 He was an African American violinist and composer.


The son of free Black West Indian parents, Dédé first studied the violin in New Orleans then in Mexico. In 1850, he left for Paris, completing his musical education and beginning a career that lasted for nearly fifty years. As a violinist, musical director and composer, Dédé developed a considerable reputation abroad.


He composed Mon pauvre coeur: Mélodie 1852, Le Serment de l'Arabe: Chant dramatique, 1865 and Chicago: Grande valse à l'américaine, 1892. He returned to New Orleans only briefly in the winter of 1893-94 for a series of successful concerts. Edmund Dédé died in 1903.

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