Born 30 September, 1840 in Christiania (now Oslo), Johan Severin Svendsen grew up in a musical environment as his father was a military bandmaster and music teacher. Certainly by age nine he already had shown some talent, having learned the violin well enough to be playing in local orchestras, and he joined a military band at fifteen. By the time he finished his schooling he was touring as an orchestral violinist. It was during this time that he met a merchant who was impressed enough to get him into the Liebzig Conervatory, where he studied from 1863 to 1867. during this time he learned composition under Carl Reinecke. Graduating in 1867, he received first prize in composition. During this period, he had a son, Johann Richard Rudolph.
over time he turned his attention more to conducting, working in Paris, Kristiana and New York. Later still he married one Sarah Schmidt in New York before moving to Copenhagen
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