Sydney Beck is from
Poughkeepsie. Born in New York City, Beck was a graduate of
Morris High School in the Bronx and the
City College of New York. He was a leading figure in the
early music revival movement in New York City from the 1930s to the 1950s. He was an expert in
historically informed performance on the viol, and published numerous journal articles related to that topic. He performed in several early music ensembles as a gambist in the 1940s and 1950s. Beck was the long-time head of the Music Division of the Rare Book and Manuscripts Collections at the
New York Public Library (NYPL). Funds provided by the
Works Progress Administration during the 1930s enabled him to transcribe and to publish for the NYPL a large number of rare works from the Division's collection, including early American symphonies, chamber music, concertos, popular songs, hymns, and other sacred works that had never before been published. From 1968–1976 he was Director of Libraries and a faculty member of the strings program at the
New England Conservatory.
White House performance In 1963, at the invitation of
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, his early music ensemble, The Consort Players, performed the musical entertainment under his direction for a
state dinner at the
White House in honor of
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Among the musicians performing was tenor
Robert White. In attendance were President
John F. Kennedy, the First Lady, and
Eunice Kennedy Shriver among other dignitaries. ==Death==