Born in a rural part of Lowell, Massachusetts, Chadwick received some early musical training from organ lessons given by his older brother, Fitz Henry.

Chadwick entered New England Conservatory (NEC) as a "special student" in 1872, so that he could study with the faculty without satisfying the rigorous entrance or degree requirements.

Chadwick studied organ with George E. Whiting (1840–1923), piano with Carlyle Petersilea (1844–1903), and theory with Stephen A. Emery (1841–1891), each of whom was well respected in the Boston music scene.

[citation needed] Realizing that his musical career in the U.S. would be limited without further studies in Europe, in 1877[3] Chadwick headed to Germany like many other composers of his generation.

[citation needed] After his two-year stay in Leipzig, Chadwick traveled around Europe with a group of artists who called themselves the "Duveneck Boys".

Among his pupils were Horatio Parker, William Grant Still, Arthur Whiting, Wallace Goodrich, Frederick S. Converse, Florence Price, Henry Hadley,[1] and Edith Noyes Porter.

During this time, Chadwick utilized his training as a student in Leipzig, favoring sonata form, diatonic harmony, and regular phrasing and rhythms.

Set around Washington Irving's tale of the same name, Rip Van Winkle was his first orchestral work that established his claim to fame in Europe and America.

The Grove Encyclopedia says it offered: "...a veritable anthology of popular styles, including a 'Plantation Ballad', a Spanish 'Bolero', an Irish 'Ditty' and a French 'Rigaudon', most of them designed as set pieces to show off the talents of the first performers.

But Chadwick also composed complex musical numbers that advance the plot and demonstrate his command of the extended finale as employed by Sullivan..."[8]

The very character of the thematic material in Adonais is modern, in sharp contrast to the classic reserve shown in the Melpomene overture; the expression is more outspoken, more purely emotional and dramatic.

Lochinvar is another distinctive choral piece with a Celtic flavor, featuring a baritone voice with a violin solo just before the "Introduction of Strathspey" section.

It was not until 2011, however, that a pair of letters was discovered in which Chadwick himself officially acknowledged Goodrich's handiwork in making and publishing the organ solo version.

Aphrodite evokes a majestic image of the sea, and Tam O'Shanter (based on the tale by Robert Burns) is a work of musical story-telling of similar caliber as some of Richard Strauss's pieces, such as the latter's Don Quixote.

[6] Chadwick's most important stage work from this period is The Padrone, based on the realistic plight of Italian immigrants in the North End of Boston.

Although Chadwick considered this to be one of his finer works, it was not performed until 1995, when it was premiered by the Waterbury Symphony and conductor Leif Bjaland at the Thomaston Opera House.

[9] He wrote a number of patriotic songs during World War I, including These to the Front, The Fighting Men, and perhaps his best known, Land of Our Hearts, first performed in the Norfolk Festival in June 1918, featuring a fluid syllabic setting of a poem by John Hall Ingram.

[citation needed] By this time, Chadwick was a highly regarded elder musician who was no longer writing as the energetically creative artist.