William Jay Sydeman (May 8, 1928[1] – May 27, 2021) was a prolific American composer.[2] He was born in New York. He studied at Duke University,[3] and received a B.S. degree in 1955 from the Mannes School of Music, having studied with Felix Salzer, Roy Travis, and Roger Sessions.[4] He received his master's in music from the Hartt School in 1958, studying under Arnold Franchetti and Goffredo Petrassi.[4] From 1959 to 1970 he joined the composition faculty at his alma mater Mannes School of Music.[5]

In 1951 he married Hope Millholland, a pianist[6] and fellow student at Mannes.[7]

Winning early acclaim for his avant-garde music (principally published by C. F. Peters), he felt trapped by the prevailing orthodoxies and moved to California in 1970, beginning a period of wandering during which he also studied Buddhism and Anthroposophy. He joined ASCAP in 1975. From 1980 to 1982 he taught at Rudolph Steiner College in Fair Oaks. In 1981 he settled in Sacramento and resumed composition at his former prolific rate, having newly embraced a neotonal musical language. He later moved to Mendocino.

In 1966, his catalog (nearly 75 works by this date) was edited by Nancy B. Reich and published as an early exercise in machine-readable catalogs. A 2nd edition, published by NYU Department of Music Education, was released in 1968.[8] 35 years later she would write his entry for Grove Dictionary of Music.[5]

His music was commissioned from many leading institutions and performers. He won awards from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Pacifica Foundation,[9] and the National Institutes of Arts and Letters.[5]

Selected works

Opera
Orchestral
Band
Concertante
Chamber music
Piano
Choral
Vocal

External links

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "A Son to Mrs. Joseph M. Sydeman". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  2. ^ "Obituary for William Jay Sydeman". The Union. June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  3. ^ "MANNES STUDENT FIANCEE; Miss Hope Millholland to Be Bride of William J. Sydeman". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Mayer and Sydeman". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  5. ^ a b c Reich, Nancy B. (2001). "Sydeman, William". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.27230. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  6. ^ "MUSIC NOTES". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  7. ^ "MANNES STUDENT FIANCEE; Miss Hope Millholland to Be Bride of William J. Sydeman". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  8. ^ Reich, Nancy B. (1968). Catalog of the works of William Sydeman; a machine-readable pilot project in information retrieval (2nd ed.). NYU Division of Music Education. OCLC 448388.
  9. ^ "PACIFICA AWARDS TO 3 COMPOSERS; Americans in 20's Receive Prizes for Chamber Works". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  10. ^ "BOSTONIANS BEGIN 79TH VISIT SEASON; The Play Works of Dvorak, Sydeman and Bartok". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  11. ^ "Music: Memorial to John F. Kennedy; Work by Sydeman Has New York Premiere The Program". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  12. ^ "Sydeman Concerto Performed at the 'Y'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  13. ^ "SYDEMAN CONCERTO HAS PREMIERE HERE". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  14. ^ "TRUMPETER PLAYS AVANT-GARDE BILL; Morrow Aided by Murray, Conductor and Pianist". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  15. ^ "Jack Chaikin Introduces Sonata By Sydeman in Piano Recital". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  16. ^ "WORK BY SYDEMAN IS GIVEN PREMIERE; ' Malediction' Performed by Chamber Music Society". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  17. ^ Palmer, Larry (August 1982). "Harpsichord News" (PDF). The Diapason. 73 (873): 3.
  18. ^ "'HALLEY' ON CHANNEL 13". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
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