Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (June 14, 1932, Manhattan, New York City or possibly (unconfirmed) Winston-Salem, North Carolina – March 9, 2004, Chicago) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

whose interests spanned the worlds of jazz,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, pop,

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, television, and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Professionally he was often known as "Coleridge Perkinson". Perkinson was African American and was named after the black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912). Perkinson's mother was active in music and the arts as a piano teacher, church organist, and director of a theater company.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene
"African Heritage Symphonic Series Vol. III"
Liner note essay. Cedille Records CDR066. Perkinson attended the

High School of Music and Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the H ...

in New York City and New York University. He later transferred to the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, where he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini and Charles Mills. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from the

. He also studied with Earl Kim at Princeton University. He was on the faculty of

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

(1959–1962) and studied conducting in the summers of 1960, 1962, and 1963 in the Netherlands with Franco Ferrara and Dean Dixon and also learned conducting in 1960 at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Perkinson co-founded the

Symphony of the New World The Symphony of the New World was a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It was the first racially integrated orchestra in the United States. The Symphony gave its debut concert on 6 May 1965 at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Benjamin Steinb ...

in New York in 1965 and later became its music director. He was also music director of Jerome Robbins's American Theater Lab and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Perkinson composed a ballet for Ailey titled ''For Bird, With Love'', inspired by the music of Charlie Parker. Perkinson wrote a great deal of classical music, but was equally well-versed in jazz and popular music. He served briefly as pianist for drummer Max Roach’s quartet and wrote arrangements for Roach,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, and Harry Belafonte. He also composed music for films such as '' The McMasters'' (1970), '' Together for Days'' (1972), ''

A Warm December ''A Warm December'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sidney Poitier and starring him in the lead role as Dr. Matt Younger. It also stars Jamaican actress Esther Anderson as Catherine, Matt's love interest. Anderson's performanc ...

'' (1973), '' Thomasine & Bushrod'' (1974), '' The Education of Sonny Carson'' (1974), '' Amazing Grace'' (1974), '' Mean Johnny Barrows'' (1976), and the documentary '' Montgomery to Memphis'' (1970) about Martin Luther King Jr. In 1970 he wrote incidental music for at least one episode of the US television show '' Room 222''. Perkinson's music has a blend of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

; American Romanticism; elements of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, spirituals, and black folk music; and rhythmic ingenuity.

Orchestral works

*Grass: Poem for Piano, Strings and Percussion (1973) *Mop/Mop: A Symphonic Sketch (1998) *Sinfonietta No. 1 for Strings (1953) *Sinfonietta No. 2 for Strings: Generations (1996) *Worship: A Concert Overture (2001)

Choral works

*Fredome/ Freedom for SATB Chorus and Piano (1970) *Fredome/ Freedom for SATB Chorus, Two Pianos, Double Bass and Percussion (1970) *Psalm Twenty-Three (2003)

Solo and instrumental works

*60/60 for Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet and Piano (1996) *Blue/s Forms for solo violin (1979) *Finale for solo clarinet (unspec.) *Lament for viola and piano (1950s) *Lamentations Black/Folk Song Suite for solo cello (1973) *Lil' Lite O' Mine/ Sparklin' for Flute and Piano (2000) *Louisiana Blues Strut: A Cakewalk for violin (2002) *Movement for String Trio (2004) *Scherzo for solo piano (1973) *Sonata a' la Baroque for solo flute (1994) *Sonata for Flute & Piano (2003) *String Quartet No. 1 "Calvary" (1956) *Toccata for solo piano (1953) *Walkin' All Over God's City Called Heaven for violin and cello (1996)

References

* Program notes by Gregory Weinstein for "Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932–2004): A CELEBRATION" (Cedille Records CDR 90000 087) * Martin, Douglas "Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Versatile Musician, Dies at 71
''New York Times'' (March 13, 2004)

External links

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson papers
the composer's personal papers in th
Music Division
o

Obituary
from the New York Public Library *http://www.wnyc.org/story/no-boundaries-music-life-coleridge-taylor-perkinson-wnyc/ * http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Perkinson.html
Composer page on publisher's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkinson, Coleridge-Taylor 1932 births 2004 deaths 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American film score composers American male conductors (music) African-American jazz composers African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers African-American film score composers The High School of Music & Art alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni People from Manhattan Musicians from New York City 20th-century American composers Jazz musicians from New York (state) Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American conductors (music) American male film score composers American male jazz composers American jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians Brooklyn College faculty 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people