Georges Alexandre Krins

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Vocation

Belgian violinist, one of the eight musicians employed on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg, they played music, intending to calm the passengers, for as long as they possibly could, and all went down with the ship on 15 April 1912. All were recognized for their heroism. Georges Alexandre Krins' family was from Belgium, and soon after his birth they moved back there to the town of Spa. He first studied at Academie de Musique de Spa. He then moved to the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liège, Belgium, where he studied from 30 October 1902 until 1908, when he won first prize for violin, with the highest distinction. As a young man he wanted to join the army; however, his parents persuaded him otherwise. He worked in his father's shop and played in La Grande Symphonie, Spa. In 1910, he moved to Paris to be first violin at Le Trianon Lyrique. He subsequently moved to London and played for two years at the Ritz Hotel until March 1912. He lived at 10 Villa Road, Brixton, London and became bandmaster of the Trio String Orchestra, which played near the Café Français. This led to his being recruited by CW & FN Black, Liverpool to play on the Titanic. He boarded the Titanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton, UK. His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Wallace Hartley's orchestra. His cabin was second class, and he was the only Belgian musician aboard the Titanic. After the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Krins and his fellow band members assembled in the first class lounge and started playing music to help keep the passengers calm. They later moved to the forward half of the boat deck, where they continued to play as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Krins was 23 years old when he died on 15 April 1912. His body was never recovered. Link to Wikipedia biography