Richard Alston Plays Saint-Georges, R.N. Dett, S. Joplin, F. Price, M. Bonds & G. Walker Feb. 3 at NJIT

(Richard C. Alston)

New Jersey's Science and Technology University (NJIT) is the venue for a Black History Month performance by pianist Richard C. Alston, Assistant Professor of Music at Essex County College. AfriClassical's many posts about him include one on June 26, 2009: “Pianist Richard C. Alston Has Arensky CD & Performs African American Composers on YouTube.” We often listen to our copy of the CD, which he recorded with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Paul Freeman; the recording is: Centaur Records CRC 2307 (1997).

Wed. Feb 3, 3:00 – 4:30 PM

Jim Wise Theater
Richard Alston is deeply committed to sharing music as a distinguished pianist and educator, and classical works by composers of African descent are a specialty in his extensive repertoire. On February 3 at NJIT, he will perform and offer commentary on selections from the music of artists such as Joseph de Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint Georges, Scott Joplin, R. Nathaniel Dett, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and George Walker. After earning his bachelor’s at The Juilliard School, Alston was awarded the prestigious Maria Guerra Judelson Scholarship in piano to return to Juilliard for his master’s. He then embarked on a career in both classical piano performance and performing arts education. His performance credits range from live opera and recitals to radio and television broadcasts as well as recordings.

Under Alston’s direction as assistant professor of music at Essex County College, the school’s associate’s degree program in music has flourished to become a full-fledged performing arts department of music, dance and drama. Highlights of his contributions to the department consist of a program that allows high school students to audition for opportunities to study at the college level, and the development of courses in musical computer technology marked by the construction of a new technical music lab. (Composers listed above are profiled at AfriClassical.com)

Chicago College of Performing Arts is proud 'to have a formal relationship with Sphinx'

[Photo of Aaron P. Dworkin by Bruce Giffin, Detroit Public Television]

On Dec. 26, 2009 AfriClassical posted “Henry Fogel: 'Musicians need to hear from people like Aaron Dworkin of the Sphinx Foundation.'” Henry Fogel is Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. In November, 2009, he addressed the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Schools of Music:

“Musicians need to be sensitive to, and supportive of, efforts to diversify our world—strong, proactive efforts that will help to overcome a century of actual, real discrimination. While that situation has improved dramatically in our lifetimes, it is a very important and real part of our field’s history. Musicians need to hear from people like Aaron Dworkin of the Sphinx Foundation whose organization does a terrific job promoting string playing among young musicians of color, on the need for greater change in this area.”

Three comments have been made. The first was from Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, who said: “I know Henry. He is a superb human being in every regard.” Aaron Dworkin then added: “Wow:)... I didn't know... He is fantastic!” Today we heard from Dean Henry Fogel: “Thank you for promoting the wonderful work of Aaron Dworkin, and for the kind words. I appreciate them very much. I am proud that the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University will now have a formal relationship with Sphinx.” [Aaron P. Dworkin is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Comment by email
Hi Henry, First, I just wanted to thank you again for OVERLY kind words mentioning me:)... Needless to say, given the experience, wisdom and leadership you have brought to bear in our field and your advocacy for diversity, it meant a great deal! We are so proud of our budding partnership on the Sphinx Performance Academy and look forward to seeing you soon! Aaron Dworkin
*****************************************
Aaron, It is impossible to be OVERLY kind about what you have done and what you have meant to our field. I too am proud of our budding partnership. Henry Fogel

Composer Regina Baiocchi and the Late Hale Smith, Part 1

Effect of Late Hale Smith on Regina Baiocchi "...was profound to say the least!"

AfriClassical interviewed Regina Harris Baiocchi by phone on Jan. 6, 2010. We requested the interview to explore her career as a composer as well as her knowledge of her teacher, mentor and friend, the late composer Hale Smith, who passed away Nov. 24, 2009. Regina is the person who informed us of his death, late on that day. Part 1 of the interview was timed to precede the premiere, on Chicago's legendary classical radio station WFMT, of one of her works, and the performance of another. On Dec. 9, 2009 AfriClassical posted; "WFMT Airs Premiere of 'Tryptych' of Regina Harris Baiocchi on Jan. 18, 2010." The post quoted this message from the composer: "CUBE Ensemble will premiere music they commissioned me to write titled triptych for clarinet, percussion, and 'cello; and my piano sonata, Liszten will also be performed live on WFMT 98.7 FM 'Live from Studio One.' I'll be in great company. Music by Hale Smith, Valerie Capers and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson will be featured also." For those not within broadcast range of the station, the post includes a link for listening to the audio of the broadcast online.

Hello Regina, I am happy to make your acquaintance by phone. I did want to fill in a bit of the background. You have quite a bit of it here on "The HistoryMakers" Then I thought we could get to the point where you made the acquaintance of Hale Smith, and how that affected your career.
Well, the effect was profound to say the least! As I've been thinking about our conversation, I have known him for about 20 years.
What was your background in music as a child before you came to the level of education that brought you in contact with Hale?
I've been in music since I was 4 years old. At the age of 4, my Mom put me in a children's choir, a Community Choir. It was a group called the Girls' Choir because we were all female voices.
Were you born in Chicago?
Yes.
Is that where you've always lived?
Yes. I was in New York when I went to NYU...
Right.
I was living in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin for a while, freshman year of high school, but for the most part I've been here all of my life.
Okay.
But as I mentioned, I've been in music since I was 4 years old, and I was a member of the Girls' Choir, a group of female singers that worked at a place called Metropolitan Methodist Church, a very old, prestigious church here in Chicago on 41st and King Drive which prior to being named after Dr. Martin Luther King was called South Park. We were not Methodist; I was raised Catholic, but it was the Community Chorus that my Mom felt would be a good place for me and my four sisters to be. So that was my first introduction to music, and then I began playing guitar at about 9. I was in 4th Grade, and my teacher, a nun, a religious sister, offered to teach me guitar lessons. Her name was Sister Mary Dismas and I studied guitar with Sister Dismas probably from age 9 through elementary school. So I went from singing in the Girls' Choir to playing guitar for Sunday Masses. At the time, the Catholic Church, post-Vatican II, was moving toward having more liturgies said in the vernacular.
I was in the seminary, just to let you know.
Okay! Well, we kind of followed the trend from Latin Masses to English Masses. When I was coming along in the 1960s, guitar Masses were very popular, and I think the Catholic Church was trying to keep abreast of what was going on with the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Movement et cetera. And so in order to keep the base that they had, they did whatever they felt they could do, to try to appeal to people. So as a result, guitar Masses became very popular and I was one of the kids that played for the Sunday liturgies with Sr. Dismas. Usually these were Masses that were attended by school kids. I also around the same time became a member of the Gospel Choir at our church, St. Elizabeth's, which was the oldest Black Catholic church in Chicago. I didn't realize at the time until I went to other places; I thought that every school reflected the culture of the people who attended. I was really surprised when I went to school with other Black kids who didn't have the same opportunities that I had, to be introduced to Black poets, writers and singers. The sisters who ran the school, St. Elizabeth's School, were out of Philadelphia, a group called the S.B.S., Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Their mission, in the United States, is to educate Native Americans and African Americans. So their curriculum tended to be steeped in the culture where they were working. In other words, on reservations they often taught Native American students how to read and write their own language, when that was possible. In terms of Black culture they taught us Poetry, Music, Literature; exposed us to those things created by Black composers, singers, dancers et cetera.
Sounds like a rather non-traditional approach?
I didn't realize that at the time, but it was. We had a regular college prep curriculum in elementary school and high school like other kids did. There was a great effort to introduce us to things that were created by people who looked like us. When you're a kid and that happens - because even adults live in their heads - a kid especially thinks that every other kid is doing the same thing! I was kind of surprised when I went to high school - I went to Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. I started out at St. Mary's Springs Academy of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. I thought I wanted to go there, because my two older sisters had gone there, but it was such a culture shock that I really did not survive! So I came back home and I went...
Would that have been an overwhelmingly majority group setting?
Absolutely! My older sister was the first Black student at St. Mary's Springs Academy. Then my next oldest sister was the second Black student, and I was the third Black student. Because they are older than I am, by the time I got there they were gone so I was the only Black student in the entire school. That was a little overwhelming! The school and the teachers and the Sisters of St. Agnes who sponsored me bent over backwards to make me feel welcome, but you know when you're 13-14 years old, away from home, and you go from a curriculum that's steeped in Black culture to a farming community in Wisconsin the difference is like night and day. I just kind of felt myself drowning culturally.
That was expecting a lot of you, I would think!
Well, you know my older sisters did so well, my parents presumed I would be just as happy there as they were. Because they were very happy there. Neither of them went on to become Sisters of St. Agnes, but we still have ties to that order and ties to some of the girls that we went to school with. The kids were great! It was just - you know I just was not ready. It was a very traditional Catholic school. They taught Latin, Greek, Spanish, French, Italian and German. I wasn't ready for all the changes. I think if I had to take a stab at it, even though Fond du Lac is a French name for a town, Wisconsin as you can imagine was a very Germanic place.
Yes.
I just wasn't ready for it!
(In Part 2 of the interview, Regina Harris Baiocchi discusses her years at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Hale Smith and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson are profiled at AfriClassical.com)

Regina Harris Baiocchi
African American Composer
Born 1956
St. Elizabeth School
St. Mary's Springs Academy
The HistoryMakers

Naperville Sun: 'NCC Sinfonietta concert salutes MLK' Under Baton of Maestro Paul Freeman

[TOP: Jonita Lattimore; MIDDLE: Gwendolyn Brown; BOTTOM: "The Chicago Sinfonietta marks the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a musical celebration at 8 p.m. Jan. 16 at North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall. Photo of Maestro Paul Freeman and the orchestra Courtesy of NCC"]

SuburbanChicagoNews.com/NapervilleSun/
NCC Sinfonietta concert salutes MLK
January 8, 2010
By ANNIE ALLEMAN
For Sun-Times Media
“Historically speaking, there haven't been a lot of African-Americans in the world of classical music. In 1987, one man sought to change that. Music director Paul Freeman founded the Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra with a vision of inclusiveness and innovation, and a dream that all Americans could enjoy and contribute to the cultural richness of classical music.

"'The core mission is that classical music is an art form that should be available to all people, and all people are capable of excellence in it,' said Don Macica, marketing director with the Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra. 'To hear and see an orchestra on stage doing something that historically has only been associated with one group is pretty inspiring. It proves false about the assumptions of what people can and can't do. People can do a lot. It doesn't matter what their background is.'

“Naperville's North Central College hosts the Chicago Sinfonietta's presentation of "The Dream Lives On: Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.' at 8 p.m. Jan. 16 in the Wentz Concert Hall. Led by conductor Freeman, the program celebrates King's life, work and vision with music from the nation's most diverse symphony orchestra. The performance concludes with audience participation on the spiritual 'We Shall Overcome.'

“Freeman once met King in an Atlanta airport, and when he told King he was a classical music conductor, King remarked that that was the last bastion. 'Classical music has been considered a cultural elite thing. It is overwhelmingly white; that's the reality,' Macica said. 'The Sinfonietta -- both the audience and the people who perform -- 33 to 36 percent are from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It's a particular point of pride.'

“The program opens with Gabriel Faure's 'Pavane Opus 50,' and continues with four Negro spirituals arranged for orchestra and soprano by Hale Smith. The Sinfonietta will be joined by guest soloists and classically trained opera singers Gwendolyn Brown (contralto) and soprano Jonita Lattimore. These four spiritual movements include 'Let Us Break Bread Together,' 'Jesus, Lay Your Head in the Window,' 'This Little Light of Mine' and 'Witness.'" [Maestro Paul Freeman (b. 1936) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

NYFOS/Juilliard in Free 'Killer B's', Songs of H.T. Burleigh & Other 'B' Composers

[Baritone Carlton Ford is featured in Killer B’s, January 13 at the Peter Jay sharp Theater at The Juilliard School, New York City (Photo by Nick Granito)]

Reva Cooper is Publicist for the New York Festival Of Song. She has provided us with the above photo of Carlton Ford, along with its caption. She also tells AfriClassical: “Music of Harry T. Burleigh (also Charles Brown) is featured on New York Festival Of Song/Juilliard Dept. of Vocal Arts’ Killer B’s: American Song from Amy Beach to The Beach Boys, on January 13.”

“Free Concert, Featuring music of Irving Berlin, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, The Bobs, Harr T. Burleigh, Eubie Blake, William Bolcom, and many others:
NYFOS@Juilliard: Fifth Annual Collaboration with Award-winning Students in The Department of Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School, Wednesday January 13 at Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

“New York Festival of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), who 'redefined the song recital with daring and dramatic programming' (The New Yorker), presents its fifth annual program with the Department of Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School on Wednesday January 13, 2010 at 8 PM, NYFOS@Juilliard celebrates the creative energy and superlative vocal talent of tomorrow’s brightest stars, building on NYFOS’s distinctive programming and performing style. Alumni of the joint program have already begun to participate in NYFOS’s mainstage concerts alongside more seasoned artists, while also taking their place in opera houses and concert halls around the world.
Tickets for the event are free and available at The Juilliard School box office (in person only).

“NYFOS Directors Steven Blier and Michael Barrett are enthusiastic about the NYFOS/Juilliard collaboration: 'We are having a wonderful experience working on this crazy, eclectic program. The students are all deeply involved, researching new songs, looking for spoken material as a bridge between numbers (all by authors whose names begin with the letter B), suggesting repertoire, discussing program order, and writing program notes. They have responded with tremendous creativity, and best of all, they’re teaching us a thing or two as they chart a new, surprising path.'

“The artists in Killer B’s will be Catherine Hancock and Meredith Lustig, sopranos; Carla Jablonski and Naomi O’Connell, mezzo-sopranos; Carlton Ford and Timothy McDevitt, baritones; Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone; and New York Festival of Song directors Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, pianists/hosts. Choreography is by Jeanne Slater.”

“Harry T. Burleigh (1866 –1949) was an African-American classical composer, arranger, and singer. He was the first black composer to influence the development of a characteristically American music and he helped to make black music available to classically-trained artists by introducing them to the music and by arranging Negro spirituals in a more classical form.” [The African American composer, arranger and bass soloist Henry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Atlanta's A-List: 'Author Appearance: Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove on January 15'

[Rita Dove; George Bridgetower (Copyright: The British Museum)]

Atlanta's A-List
Jan 7th, 2010
“Rita Dove is the former Poet Laureate of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ms. Dove is the author of numerous collections of poetry, her most recent of which is Sonata Mulattica. Among her many awards and honors are a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, a Fulbright scholarship, the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, the Duke Ellington Lifetime Achievement Award, and a National Humanities Medal.” “She will be appearing as part of the Georgia Perimeter College's 14th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at 6pm on Friday, January 15. The event will take place at the Beulah Baptist Church at 2340 Clifton Springs Rd. Decatur.”

Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University Conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin has documented the life and music of George Bridgetower in painstaking detail, and has made his work available to AfriClassical.com. Felicia R. Lee of The New York Times published an article, “Poet's Muse: A Footnopte to Beethoven”, in which she reviewed Rita Dove's book of poems on Bridgetower, “Sonata Mullatica,” on April 2, 2009. Ms. Lee cited Prof. DeLerma's biography of George Bridgetower at AfriClassical.com:

“While Bridgetower failed to find a prominent place in the musical canon, his story is nevertheless recorded in the major musical histories, like The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as well as on Internet sites like AfriClassical.com and its companion, africlassical.blogspot.com, which document black contributions to classical music.”

Marcus Thompson: William Grant Still Music in Winter Festival of Boston Chamber Music Society Jan. 9, 16 & 23

[Marcus Thompson]

The Boston Globe
Classical Notes
Time binds the music and MIT
By David Weininger
Globe Correspondent / January 8, 2010

“January, you might say, is a time for time. The new year is still new, and there’s space in which to reckon the days just gone and those to come. Time’s limits, and its limitless possibilities, are both in our minds, each vying for primacy. With its first Winter Festival, the Boston Chamber Music Society is providing a soundtrack for this reflective period. Beginning tomorrow and continuing through the next two Saturdays, the festival has as its theme time and its relation to music, with each concert preceded by a forum exploring one aspect of this giant, multifaceted issue. Unusually for BCMS, the concerts will be heavy on modern music; the conferences will be interdisciplinary, with contributions also from science, poetry, and design.

“The gathering is the brainchild of Marcus Thompson, who is in his first year as artistic director of the society and his 36th on the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the concerts and conferences are taking place. He says the idea arose from a desire on the part of both institutions to open themselves to new audiences. 'It just seemed to me that I was hearing the same thing from two different sides of the world that I occupy,’ says Thompson by phone. 'The need to do something different, something that would appeal to a new, younger audience. And also, the need to do something that gave a clear explanation of what we were doing and why we were doing it.’

“The festival is being funded partially by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts specifically to support the performance of American music; Libby Larsen, George Crumb, William Grant Still, and Peter Child are among the composers represented - with Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak. 'In structuring the program, I have to remember that we are the Boston Chamber Music Society,’ Thompson says candidly, alluding to the ensemble’s penchant for rather conservative programming. 'We can’t suddenly disavow who we are; we have to play the things that we play well.’

“Because of the volume of unfamiliar repertoire, he thought that a unifying idea would be helpful. 'When people are faced with a tremendous amount of anything new, sometimes it’s best to just focus on one thing that helps you to get in: one metric, one avenue that allows you to make connections.’ More broadly, the festival represents a sort of collective effort to think through music’s unique means of marking out, organizing, and manipulating time, its horizons of memory and anticipation. Or, as Thompson puts it, 'Music is really audible time. It can’t be experienced in an instant; it has to be unfolded in time.'’’ [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Lotus Ensemble in Rick Robinson's 'City of Trees' Feb. 28; Celeste Headlee on William Grant Still

(Lotus Ensemble, photo from PalmerWoods.org)

Lotus Ensemble
PalmerWoods.org

Sunday, February 28, 7pm

Concert sponsor: Elegance By Design
By Larry Gabriel, http://www.gumbospot.com/
“Black History month is even more meaningful when great composers such as Duke Ellington, William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, and Detroit’s own Rick Robinson get the spotlight. These legendary composers get the string treatment with the Lotus Ensemble — violinists Joseph Striplin and Velda Kelly, bassist Rick Robinson and violist John Madison, as they bow away the blues on a cold winter evening. Striplin and Robinson are members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Kelly and Madison play in the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, as well as regularly with the DSO.

“William Grant Still is considered by many to be the 'dean' of African American composers. He was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have his own symphony performed by a top orchestra, and the first to have his own opera performed by a major opera company and on national television. That puts him in good company with Ellington and Joplin, both legendary and prodigious composers, who created musical models for generations of jazz musicians to come.”

“Lotus will also perform Robinson’s composition City of Trees, as well as works by Mozart and others. Robinson’s ESSAY No. 1 (After Sibelius) was premiered by DSO in 2006. Striplin, a member of the DSO since 1972, began his musical studies in Detroit’s public schools. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera National Company Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony before returning to Detroit. Striplin is also music director and conductor of the Grosse Pointe Symphony. Kelly has been teaching and performing around Detroit since 1983. She is artistic director of Chamber Music at the Scarab Club and often performs with the DSO.

“Madison is principal violist of the MOT Orchestra and Sphinx Symphony, as well as a regular substitute with the DSO. A sought-after educator, he is Dean of the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute. He is cofounder and coordinator of the Cassini Ensemble, and recently toured with the Chamber Orchestra of France and performed with the New York City Opera Co. A DSO bassist since1989, Robinson first studied music in Highland Park Public Schools and Interlochen. He’s served as principal bass of the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, assistant principal of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and substitute with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1995 he founded CutTime Players, an octet of DSO members. The Takeaway’s new star Public Radio host Celeste Headlee, William Grant Still’s granddaughter, will join us to provide personal insights into her grandfather’s music and life.”

Toledo Blade: 'Classical recordings have local connections' to Greg Kostraba & Dennis Russell Davies

[ABOVE: William Grant Still; Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music, and is used with permission; BELOW: “The Toledo Clarinets”; Greg Klaas, clarinet; Jocelyn Langworthy, clarinet; Shannon Ford, clarinet; Kevin Schempf, clarinet; Chelsea Tipton II, clarinet; Elliott Ross, clarinet; Greg Kostraba, piano; William Grant Still: “Quartet for Four B-Flat Clarinets” (15:18), “Christmas in the Western World (Las Pascuas)” (18:51); Cambria CAMCD-1190 (2009)]

ToledoBlade.com

Article published January 07, 2010

Classical recordings have local connections

By Sally Vallongo

Special to The Blade
“Two new classical recordings with local connections say a lot about the diversity and quality of the music scene in northwest Ohio. The Toledo Clarinets - Georg Klaas, Jocelyn Langworthy, Shannon Ford, and Kevin Schempf - have just released their eponymous first album on the Cambria label (cambriamus.com). Works by American composers of today and yesteryear make for a refreshing hour of music by instruments rarely heard outside either symphonic or big-band venues.

“Jerome Moross (1913-1983), a major composer for Hollywood films and Broadway productions, is represented with his Sonatina for Clarinet Choir. Chelsea Tipton II and Elliott Ross, bass clarinet, join the quartet for this piece. Two works by major African-American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) reveal his great gift for melody and ingenious orchestration. A quartet by Sean Osborn, the premier American clarinetist and composer, and 'De Profundis,' by area musician Christopher Dietz round out this innovative album.

“Produced by former WGTE-FM 91.3, music director Greg Kostraba, the selections reveal a fresh approach to music rarely heard, either in public or on recording, and may open a few ears to the appeal of clarinet music as a solo option. The album is priced online at $18. For lovers of classical music, a new 37-CD boxed set titled 'Josef Haydn: The Complete Symphonies,' recorded by Toledo native and world-renowned conductor Dennis Russell Davies with his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, may just become a must-have.” [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma is found.]

Ulysses Simpson Kay, Jr., African American Composer, Born January 7, 1917

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

Our most recent post on Ulysses S. Kay was on Dec. 25, 2009: “Ulysses Kay's 'Everett Suite' in University of North Texas Libraries Digital Collections.” The Everett Suite is a work for bass trombone, commissioned by a performer. Yesterday we heard from Kevin Scott, Director of the SUNY Orange Symphonic Band, who recorded Ulysses Kay: Works for Chamber Orchestra, Troy 961 (2007), the first major recording devoted exclusively to the music of Ulysses Kay:
“I hope to get the Kay project back on track sometime next year, with the hopes of finding private funding to complete the series within a few years.”

Ulysses Simpson Kay, Jr. was an African American composer, conductor and professor who 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 entry on Kay available to AfriClassical.com, where his complete Works List for the composer can be found.

He tells us young Ulysses was surrounded by music at home and began learning the piano at six, with the encouragement of an uncle who was a famous musician, King Oliver. The youth started learning the violin as well, at age 10, but at age 12 he dropped the piano and violin in favor of the alto saxophone. Ulysses formed a jazz quintet in which he played saxophone, and for which he composed and arranged music.

The International Dictionary of Black Composers gives this overview of Kay's output as a composer: “Ulysses Kay composed approximately 140 musical compositions for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, piano, voice, organ, and band, and he wrote five operas as well as scores for film and television. Kay’s works appear in numerous published editions and on approximately 21 recordings. Avoiding obvious musical references to his ethnicity, Kay preferred to immerse himself in compositional procedures that were a natural outgrowth of his educational and international experiences. According to Robert D. Herrema, “Kay believes that a composer is the product of his extraction and environment as well as his political and ethnic interests, but should not be limited by them.” In spite of these reservations, however, Kay incorporated the use of black spirituals in the opera Jubilee (1974–76) and in his last opera, Frederick Douglass (1979–85), treated the life of the legendary abolitionist.”
Ulysses Kay Born Jan 7
African American Composer
Everett Suite
Metropolitan Orchestra
Works for Chamber Orchestra
Kevin Scott