Born in the city of
Lufkin Texas and in the year
1915, Jacques Abram was a
classically trained
child prodigy from the age of five. His first state wide tour began a year later, as he played in movie houses. Back in 1921 movies were still
silent, so they needed six year old children playing piano to keep the audiences awake.
As an adult he graduated from the
Juilliard School, competed for and won awards, as well as spreading the knowledge of music as an educator at the
University of South Florida. The Governor's Texas Music Office lists Abram as one of the historic pioneers of
Texas music. One of the foremost
pianists of the early 20th century, he gave Arthur Benjamin's
Concerto quasi una Fantasia its first English performance at the
Cheltenham Festival in
1952 and the first American performance in
San Antonio in
1953.
Abram passed away in
1998.