Early Life
Alexander Ferdinand Schreiner was born on July 31, 1901 in Nuremberg, Germany. His parents were Johann Christian Schreiner and Margarethe Schwemmer. Johann and Margarethe joined the LDS church in 1903, and the local congregation held meetings in the family's home. Schreiner performed in public first at age five, and after he was baptized at age eight was almost immediately appointed as a Sunday School organist. In 1912 Schreiner moved with his family to Salt Lake City. Among his early instructors on the organ was John J. McClellan.
Schreiner first performed on an organ professionally during the fall of 1917 at the American Theater of Salt Lake City. In 1920, just after graduating from high school, he took a job as a theater organist at the Rialto Theatre in Butte, Montana. Schreiner first performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle at age 20. That same year he left on a mission to California. He served as a missionary under Joseph W. McMurrin. In early 1924, he was presiding over the Los Angeles Conference which had 35 missionaries.
In 1924, just after returning from his mission, Schreiner was appointed an assistant organist of the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle. Six months later Schreiner took a leave of absence from this appointment to go to Paris to further his musical studies with Henri Libert, Charles Marie Widor and Louis Vierne. In Paris, Schreiner would associate with other Utahns at the home of James L. Barker.
Schreiner married Margaret Lyman the daughter of Richard R. Lyman and Amy Brown Lyman in 1927. They had gone to high school together, but did not really start dating until they were both studying in Paris.
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