Nationality: American

Born in Washington, DC, April 29, 1899 
Died in New York, NY, May 24, 1974 

Born Edward Kennedy Ellington 

• Ellington picked up his nickname as a child because his friend felt he had an “elegant demeanor.” 
• Ellington studied piano as a child, but lost interest until he discovered ragtime as a teenager. 
• Ellington began working as a bandleader in the late 1920s, and achieved international fame by the 1940s, touring the United States and Europe. 
• Starting in 1942, Carnegie Hall booked Ellington for one concert per year.
• Ellington’s long-form and concert works include operas, ballets, musicals, incidental music, film scores, tone poems, and orchestral suites.¹

Biography from Songwriters’ Hall of Fame 

Dukeellington.com

Sources

1. Marcello Piras, “Ellington, Duke,” Grove Music Online (October 16, 2013), accessed January 26, 2022,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002249397.

Pieces

Suite from “The River”

(1937–2000)

• William Ferris was a liturgical musician and choral conductor. He served at several American cathedrals and was the first American to teach music at the Vatican.⁶
• He founded the William Ferris Chorale, which specialized in new music and premiered more that 150 works by contemporary composers.⁷

Biography

Born in Berlin, Germany, Aug 15, 1922
Died in New York, NY, Feb 1, 2009

• Foss was a German-born American conductor, pianist and composer who had a distinguished career conducting several major American orchestras.⁹
• Foss began composing at the age of 7, and throughout his career he was honored with a New York Music Critics’ Circle Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship (he was the youngest composer ever to win one), a Fullbright grant and a Library of Congress Gold Medal for Music (2000)¹⁰
• Foss’s teachers included Randall Thompson, Paul Hindemith, and Serge Koussevitsky.¹¹

Biography

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Sept 26, 1898
Died in Hollywood, CA, July 11, 1937

Biography

Born in New York, NY, March 27, 1892
Died in Santa Monica, CA, April 3, 1972¹⁷

• Ferde Grofé [FAIR-dee grow-FAY], born Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, was an American composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist who was born into a musical family of German immigrants.
• Grofé first made a name for himself after becoming one of the primary arrangers for Paul Whiteman. He worked with Whiteman during the 1920s and early 30s. After leaving Whiteman’s orchestra, Grofé formed his own orchestra and continued to compose.
  • Grofé’s best-known arrangement for Whiteman was orchestrating Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in 1924.
• Many of Grofé’s best-known works are based on American landscapes, such as Grand Canyon Suite, Hudson River Suite, and Death Valley Suite. He also worked in film scores–His score for Minstrel Man received an Oscar Nomination for Best Music and Scoring of a Musical Picture in 1945.¹⁸
• Connection to radio – Grofé’s light, colorful, and America-centric compositions were popular for radio broadcast as they appealed to Americans who had little understanding of or appreciation for European classical music.¹⁹

Biography from Songwriters’ Hall of Fame

Born in Portsmouth, NH, Jan 10, 1893 
Died in New York, March 6, 1964 

• Helen Hagan was an African-American composer and pianist.²⁰ 
• Hagan was educated at Yale University and at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where her teachers included Vincent D’Indy.²¹
• During WWI, Hagan played for African American troops in Europe.²²
• Hagan turned to teaching after struggling to find performing opportunities due to her race. She spent much of her as a college educator. She taught at Bishop College, Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College (now Tennessee State University).²³ She was also head of the music department at the George Peabody College for Teachers.²⁴

Profile from the Grant-Hagan Society 

Biography from the New Haven Arts Council 

Born in Wahoo, NE, Oct 28, 1896
Died in Rochester, NY, February 26, 1981

• Hanson was a composer, conductor and educator.
• Hanson was the first¹ director of the Eastman School of Music, serving from 1924-1964. He was also highly involved with American music educator organizations, including the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and Music Educators National Conference (MENC).
• Hanson’s composition honors include a Pulitzer Prize for his 4^th Symphony.²

Biography

Sources

1. Steven Smith, liner notes to Howard Hanson: Symphonies (Complete), Vol. 1, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz, Naxos 8.559700, CD, 2011.
2. Ruth T. Watanabe and James Perone, “Hanson, Howard,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 22, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000012342.

Pieces

Symphony No. 2, Op. 30, “Romantic”

Symphony No. 1, Op. 22, “Nordic”

Born in New York, NY, 29 June 1911
Died in Los Angeles, CA, 24 Dec 1975¹

Biography from the Bernard Herrmann Society

Sources

1. David Cooper, “Herrmann, Bernard,” Grove Music Online (January 31, 2020), accessed January 21, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-3000000195.

Pieces

Born in Kansas City, KS, 1885 
Died in Los Angeles, CA, Jan 24, 1974 

• Nora Holt was an American composer, singer, pianist, and music critic. 
• Holt was the first African American to earn a Master of Music degree (Chicago Musical College, 1918). 
• Holt studied with Nadia Boulanger in the 1920s. 
• Holt served as music critic for The Amsterdam News in New York from 1943–64. 
• Holt was a founding member of the National Associated of Negro Musicians (Betty Jackson King became the association’s president in the 1980s).  
• Though Holt composed over 200 works, at this point, one or two of her works is known to have survived.²⁶²⁷

Biography from the Kansas Historical Society 

Born in Los Angeles, Aug 14, 1953
Born in Los Angeles, Aug 14, 1953
Died in Santa Barbara, CA, June 22, 2015

• Horner was a film composer and conductor who studied with Ligeti and composed many scores for film and TV, including Star Trek II and III (1980s), Willow (1988), Apollo 13 (1995), Braveheart (1995), Titanic (1997), A Beautiful Mind (2001), the theme for CBS Evening News, and many more.
• Horner won Grammys for the song Somewhere Out There (An American Tail, 1986), and Academy Awards for best song and score for Titanic.¹

Sources

1. Durrell Bowman, “Horner, James,” Grove Music Online (January 13, 2015), accessed October 24, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002093199.

Pieces

Legends of the Fall: “The Ludlows”

Born in Somerville, MA, March 8, 1911
Died in Seattle, June 21, 2000

• Hovhaness’s music is embraces an eclectic mix of non-western influences, including the music of his Armenian heritage, as well as Japanese, Indian, Korean, and other musics.²⁸
• A prolific composer, Hovhaness’s works include operas, ballets, 67 symphonies, choral works, and more.²⁹

Biography

Born in Danbury, CT, Oct 20, 1874
Died in New York, NY, May 19, 1954

• Ives was a professional organist and received a rigorous training in composition. Thus, though he spent 30 years in the insurance industry, the image of Ives as an amateur composer is a misconception.
• Though Ives’ experimental and avant-garde works are more familiar, he also composed tonal, Romantic works, sometimes combining styles within one piece.
• Ives’ music began to draw attention when a younger generation of composers (including Henry Cowell, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein) discovered and promoted Ives’ self-published works in the 1920s and 30s.³⁰

Biography from the Charles Ives Society

Born in Jacksonville, FL, Aug 11, 1873 
Died in New York, NY, Nov 11, 1954 

• J. (John) Rosamond Johnson was a versatile composer who wrote concert music, church music, opera and musicals.  
• Johnson studied music with his mother, a singer and teacher, and at the New England Conservatory.  
• Johnson wrote and acted in musicals co-authored with his brother, lyricist, writer, and actor James Weldon Johnson.  Their shows were remarkable for their caricature-free depictions of African-American and Native American characters. The Johnson Brothers also wrote Tin Pan Alley songs and appeared in a duo vaudeville act.  
• J. Rosamond Johnson is the composer of the African-American anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing.³²

Biography from the Library of Congress

Born in New York, NY, January 27, 1885
Died in New York, NY, November 11, 1945

• Jerome Kern was one of the leading musical theater composers of the 20th century. His most famous musical contribution was Show Boat, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein.

Learn More
Biography via the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Biography via Encyclopedia Britannica

Born in Chicago, February 17, 1928 
Died in Wildwood, New Jersey, June 1, 1994 

• Betty Jackson King was an American composer, choral conductor, and music educator.
• King received her BA (piano) and MA (composition) from Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. 
• King worked as a public school music teacher in Chicago and New Jersey, and directed many Chicago choirs, including the liturgical choirs and the Betty Jackson King Singers. 
• As a composer, King specialized in sacred and choral music.¹
• King’s many honors included serving as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians.²

Read more from Jacksonian Press 

Short biography from Hildegard Publishing Company 

Sources

1. “Betty’s History,” Jacksonian Press, accessed March 2, 2022, https://www.bettyjacksonking.com/betty-jackson-king/.
2. “Introducing: Betty Jackson King,” Ebony (October 1982), 162.

Pieces

Four Seasonal Sketches