He was born in Albany, Georgia, but spent most of his career in New York City, helping elevate the status of other American composers such as Charles Ives and Henry Cowell.

After his father's lumber mill burned down in 1888, his family moved to Indianapolis, and later to Louisville, finally settling in New York in 1900.

A gifted cellist, he was a member of the first graduating class of the Institute of Musical Art, later known as the Juilliard School, in 1907, after studying under Percy Goetschius.

He returned to Germany and served in various conducting positions until the United States entered World War I in 1917, after which he moved back to America.

He died in New York in 1961 when he tripped over the leashes of two fighting dogs, resulting in a fall and a head injury from which he did not recover despite treatment.

"[citation needed] His students included Robert Ashley,[6] Louise Spizizen, Alan Stout and Merton Brown.