Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer (July 28, 1935 – July 21, 2009) was one of the foremost scholars in African-American gospel music.

Life and career

Boyer received a B.A. from Bethune-Cookman College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

. He and his brother James had a career as singers under the name the Famous Boyer Brothers. The brothers recorded for Excello (1952),

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(1954), Vee-Jay (1955 and 1957), Nashboro and Savoy (1966 and 1967). He appeared with such artists as

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...

, James Cleveland, Alex Bradford,

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

, and

Dorothy Love Coates Dorothy Love Coates (January 30, 1928 – April 9, 2002) was an American gospel singer.

. As an educator, he taught at several universities, including the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

(1973-1999), Albany State College (GA), the University of Central Florida at Orlando and Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music where he served as Senior Research Fellow and Visiting Professor in 1992. He directed many choirs and gospel workshops throughout the world, including annual events such as the Gospel Music Festival in

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which he led from 1988 to 2008. The author of the 1995 book, ''How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Music'', which received high praise from ''

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'' and '' Library Journal'', Dr. Boyer was instrumental in introducing African-American gospel music to many communities beyond the

African-American church The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as the ...

. He served as guest curator of musical history at the

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from 1985 to 1986, and was Distinguished Scholar-at-Large at Fisk University in 1986 and 1987, where he conducted the famed

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American '' a cappella'' ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditio ...

. He was an advisor on gospel music to the New Grove Dictionary of American Music and was editor of the 1993 edition of the African American hymnal, ''Lift Every Voice and Sing, II''. Horace Boyer published over 40 articles on gospel music in publications that included the ''

Music Educators Journal The ''Music Educators Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers in the field of education. The editor-in-chief is Ella Wilcox, and the Academic Editor is Corin Overland (University of Miami). It was established in 1914 an ...

'', the ''Black Music Research Journal'' and ''Black Perspectives in Music''. He was the 2009 recipient of the

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of The

Society for American Music The Society for American Music (SAM) was founded in 1975 and was first named the Sonneck Society in honor of Oscar George Theodore Sonneck, early Chief of the Music Division in the Library of Congress and pioneer scholar of American music. The S ...

, an award whose past recipients include Robert Stevenson, Eileen Southern,

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

, H. Wiley Hitchcock, Bill C. Malone, Adrienne Fried Block, Vivian Perlis,

Charles Hamm Charles Edward Hamm (April 21, 1925 – October 16, 2011) was an American musicologist, writer, composer, and music educator. He is credited with being the first music historian to seriously study and write about American popular music. He al ...

and other important musicologists, historians and educators.

References

Additional references

*Boyer, Horace Clarence. ''How Sweet the Sound''. . *Reagon, Bernice Johnson. ''We'll Understand It Better By and By: Pioneering African American Gospel Composers''. .

External links

PBS biography

WNCU obituary

UMass Amherst obituaryInterview with Horace Clarence Boyer, Musicologist (2000)
''Jubilee Singers'' Interviews Collection, American Archive of Public Broadcasting {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Horace Clarence 20th-century African-American male singers American gospel singers African-American Christians American performers of Christian music 1935 births 2009 deaths