Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Columbia University Acquires Papers of Ulysses S. Kay (1917-1995), African American Composer

[Ulysses Kay: Works for Chamber Orchestra; Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra; Kevin Scott, Conductor; Troy 961 (2007)]

Music Library Association
Notes Volume 66, Number 3, March 2010
“Columbia University's Rare Book & Manuscript Library has acquired the papers of the noted American composer, Ulysses S. Kay (1917-1995). A prolific and important composer of contemporary symphonic, chamber, and choral music, Kay also wrote five operas, the most substantial and last of which, Jubilee (1976) and Frederick Douglass (1991), were based on themes from African American history. Kay was encouraged by William Grant Still to study music and attended the University of Arizona as an undergraduate. He received an M.A. in composition from the Eastman School, where he worked with Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers, and then studied under Paul Hindemith at Yale. After serving in the navy during World War II, Kay returned to New York to work with Otto Luening at Columbia. Between 1952 and 1968, he worked as an editorial advisor and later music consultant with Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), building a name for himself as a composer by writing music in the evenings and on weekends. Kay finished his career with two decades as a professor at Herbert Lehman College (CUNY), retiring in 1988. Highlights of the collection include a large number of Kay's scores in manuscript, a substantial collection of press cuttings relating to...”

Ulysses Simpson Kay, Jr. was born on January 7, 1917 in Tucson, Arizona. He died in Englewood, New Jersey on May 20, 1995. Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin has generously made his research entries on Ulysses S. Kay and William Grant Still (1895-1978) available to AfriClassical.com, where his complete Works List for each composer can be found.

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