Strube's music will be played in his beloved Harz Mountains for the first time next weekend.

Carl Lee, grandson of Strube and professor of mathematics at UK, was invited to a concert that will feature music composed by Strube. Bruno Uetz, a member of the orchestra in Quedlinberg, Germany, invited Lee to the concert on Feb. 21.

The concert will not only serve as a reminder of Lee's grandfather, but also his recently deceased father.

"I view this concert as a personal memory of my father," Lee said.

Strube was born in the Harz Mountains of Ballenstadt in 1867 and came from a musically gifted family, said Lee's wife, Sara.

By the age of 10, Strube was in his father's symphony, and at the age of 16 he entered the Leipzig Conservatory. Strube used to earn pocket money by making dance music for Saturday night dance parties, she said.

Upon graduation he entered the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and played under Johann Strauss, the younger, while teaching at the Mannheim Conservatory, Carl Lee said.

In 1889 Strube and conductor Artur Nikisch immigrated to the United States to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he said.

Strube played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 23 years, he said.

Strube was one of the first conductors of the Boston Pops, formed because of the success of "march master" John Philip Sousa, according to the Boston Pops Homepage.

John Williams of Star Wars fame came from the Boston Pops. The Pops were designed to popularize classical music, Carl Lee said.

Other founders of the Boston Pops included Adolph Neuedorff, Timothee Adamowski and Max Zach, according to the Pop's web page.

Starting in 1898, Strube conducted the Boston Pops every summer, and is credited with bringing them their first success with a series of six, three-hour programs every week, Carl Lee said.

In 1913 Strube was invited to conduct the student Orchestra in the Peabody Conservatory by Harold Randolph, director of the conservatory, he said.

Strube died in 1953 in Baltimore.

Due to his immigration and the events in Europe during his life, Strube's music, composed in America, has never been played in Germany, Carl Lee said.

Bruno Uetz came to America to do research on Strube and visited Lee's parents. In the process, Carl was invited to attend the concert in Germany.

Carl will attend the concert with his two children, Gwyneth and Daniel, and his mother, Nancy Lee.

The concert will feature many other composers' work, but the main attraction for Lee will be Strube's piece called, "Der Harz," named after the Harz Mountains in Germany, Carl said.

He also sees the music and the trip as a way to get a view of his heritage.

"It's a nice way to link past and present," Carl said. "I have always been interested in genealogy, and now I get to see my heritage and let my children make connections to the richness of their past."

During their trip, the Lees will visit several other areas of interest in Germany.

They will stop in the city of Eschwege, where the family Lieberknecht came from.