Fritz Scheel

He emigrated to the United States in early 1893, and conducted concerts in New York City.

[1] In 1900, Scheel became the first conductor and music director of the newly formed Philadelphia Orchestra.

After its first season, he fired half the musicians and replaced them with European players.

He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

A bas-relief portrait in bronze memorial tablet was created by Philadelphia sculptor Charles Grafly, having been commissioned by the Women's Committee for the Philadelphia Orchestra as a tribute to Scheel in 1908.