1907: (July 3) Gene Gutchë is born as "Romeo Maximilian Eugene Ludwig Gutschë" in Berlin, Germany.

1913: At age 6, young Gene plays Beethoven's "Appassionata" -- sitting on Toscanini's lap.

1916: Breaks his wrist while rollerskating, and, now age 9, decides he will never be a concert pianist.

1925: By the time most American students are graduating from high school, Gutchë has already amassed two PhD degrees (Padua: National Economy; Heidelberg: Political Science) and has trained for three years in business administration at l'Ecole Commercial in Lausanne.

1925: At age 18, when his parents refuse to support further musical study, Gutchë boards a boat for America and never returns. Arriving in Galvestan, TX, he knows no English, but his fluency in four other languages help him find a job in migrant work.

1935: Meets seventeen-year old Marion Buchan and the two are married six weeks later. They move to New York City. Marion will encourage him all his life in his musical pursuits, often working extra jobs to support him.

1943: The couple moves to Minnesota

1950: Masters degree in music from the University of Minnesota

1953: PhD in music composition from the State University of Iowa

After every premiere, Gene and Marion open a new bottle of fine wine. They write the name of the piece they're celebrating and the date on the label. (The Schubert Club owns this collection of wine bottles.)

1956: (July 26) Gutchë writes his entire Viola Interlude (4 min) in one day.

1958: (July 8) completes Holofernes Overture for orchestra, begun a mere 12 days earlier

1959: Holofernes Overture wins the Luria Award.

1962: Saint Paul Philharmonic Society commissions Gutchë for what will be his most popular piece: Bongo Divertimento. The Minneapolis Tribune calls the premiere the highlight of the concert, "a delightful seven-part exercise in rhythm whose humor -- rare in modern works -- is neither crude nor academic."

1968: (Oct 21) Gutchë begins his 8-min orchestral tone poem, Epimetheus USA. And completes it a mere 16 days later.

1975: While working on the score for Icarus, Gutchë feels the hand of Beethoven on his shoulder and hears a voice say, "Don't ever write anything unless you have something to say."

1980: (Sept 28) Lukas Foss conducts the Curtis Symphony in the second performance of Akhenaten. Later that year, Max Rudolf gives the third performance with the Detroit Symphony.

1983: (Sept 23) Leonard Slatkin conducts the St. Louis Symphony in the fourth performance of Akhenaten.

2000: (Nov 15) Gutchë dies at his home in White Bear Lake, MN

2007: The Schubert Club and University of Minnesota co-sponsor celebratory festivities to commemorate the centennial of Gutchë's birth.