Elmer Hollis Ramsey (June 3, 1930 – February 9, 2018) was the founder and conductor of Conejo Symphony Orchestra, which was a precursor to the New West Symphony. He also established the Conejo Pops Orchestra. Ramsey was a professor at California Lutheran University from 1965 to 1992. He was the co-founder of the local Oakleaf Music Festival and instrumental in the development of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.[1] [2]
Ramsey was born in North Dakota, but grew up in Kelso, Washington.[3] He graduated from the University of Portland and had his own 1940's-style big band on a Washington radio station. Ramsey later did West Coast tours with singers such as Mel Tormé.[4] He also did studio work for NBC and 20th Century Fox and conducted concerts at venues in the UK, Israel, Germany, and Austria.[5] [6] He has performed on The Ford Show and The Jimmy Durante Show.[7]
Ramsey and his wife Elaine and their children moved to Los Angeles in 1956. His California debut took place in 1958 with Ferde Grofe at the Hollywood Bowl.[3] He moved to Thousand Oaks in 1965 in order to become a music professor at California Lutheran University. At CLU he became the director and conductor of the Conejo Symphony Orchestra, and also wrote the university's fight song.[8] Under the direction of Ramsey, the Cal Lutheran orchestra and choir performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with musicians such as Marni Nixon, Roger Williams, Gordon MacRae and Florence Henderson.[9] He conducted concerts for 18 years at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.[3]
In 1992 Ramsey received the Don Triunfo Award from the Conejo Historical Society.[3] He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from California Lutheran University in 2009.[2] [9]