Photo courtesy of Steve Bailey
LILESVILLE — Lilesville-native George Byrd made history by becoming the first Afro-American to conduct the West Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1959.
George Byrd was born in Lilesville on March 22, 1926, to Miss Flora Byrd, who was unmarried at the time but by 1928 would be married to William Ingram.
He was raised by his grandparents, Tom & Zilphia Byrd.
George Byrd rose to become one of the leading orchestral conductors in Germany. He studied at the Julliard School of Music in New York City, The Conservatoire National in Paris, and in Lucerne, Switzerland, he would study under the Master Classical Conductor Herman Von Karejan. In a career that spanned over four decades, he would perform with over 80 orchestras all over Europe and the United States. An American Conductor from 1980, he principally lived and worked in Germany. He was known for his mixed used of classical artists from Brahms to Beethoven to 20th Century composers such as George Gershwin.
These performances would often use classical pieces but set to a Jazz or contemporary rhythm. Having studied in Europe since 1949, Byrd eventually became the principle conductor of the Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich, Germany.
Byrd died in Munich, Germany on March 12, 2010, when he was 83 years old and he was buried in Munich.