* Gene Gutche; Composer of Popular Orchestral Works

Gene Gutche, 93, internationally known composer of orchestral works. Born to Polish and French parents in Berlin, Gutche came to the United States in 1925 with $500 in his pocket. He was fluent in five European languages when he arrived in America but didn’t know a word of English. He supported himself by working on a Texas ranch, then moved north as a migrant worker, finally landing in St. Paul, Minn. In the late 1920s, he supported himself by giving piano lessons, arranging music for jazz bands and working as a church organist. He received advanced degrees from the Universities of Minnesota and Iowa and became a professional composer. His orchestral work was most popular in the 1960s and 1970s, when, in a typical year, there would be as many as 60 performances of his works around the country. His most popular orchestral pieces were the “Symphony for Strings,” “Genghis Khan,” “Icarus” and the original recording of “Bongo Divertimento.” On Nov. 15 in Maplewood, Minn.