Elliot Griffis

Who was Elliot Griffis?

John Elliot Griffis was an American composer.

Born in Boston, the son of the noted Orientalist William Elliot Griffis, he attended public schools in Ithaca, New York as well as the Manlius School before going to Ithaca College. He went to Yale University to work with Horatio Parker from 1913 until 1915, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music with Daniel Gregory Mason, Harry Newton Redman, and George Whitefield Chadwick before serving in the United States Army. He taught at Grinnell College, the Westchester Conservatory of Music and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music before settling in Los Angeles. Much of his output was chamber music, especially piano pieces and songs; he did, however, compose some works for orchestra and one opera, 1963's The Port of Pleasure.