[4] He studied at Harvard College and in Florence before embarking, after a stint in business, on a career in the diplomatic corps.

[5] He first saw service in Istanbul before being transferred to Tehran; in 1903 he settled in Paris, where he pursued further studies in music before becoming a composer.

[2] Fairchild had studied music while at Harvard, attending classes taught by both John Knowles Paine and Walter Spalding.

Fairchild's music has been described as derived from the same influences as the work of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky.

Some of his piano pieces may be found on a compilation of Indianist music released by Naxos Records on the Marco Polo label.