John Duffy (June 23, 1926 – December 22, 2015) was an American composer who created more than 300 works from symphonic music and operas to music for the concert hall, theatre, and film and television. In 1974 he founded the organization

Meet The Composer New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...

under the auspices of the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996 ...

and the

American Music Center New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progr ...

. The organization helped to create platforms for contemporary composers to discuss new works with audiences; notably coordinating summer festivals of contemporary music for the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and helping to fund composer-in-residence programs with 32 symphony orchestras throughout the United States among many other successful projects. He continued to lead the organization until 1996.

Biography

Born in Manhattan, Duffy was one of fourteen children born to his Irish immigrant parents, Thomas Duffy and Anna Quirk. Raised in

Woodlawn, Bronx Woodlawn Heights, also known as Woodlawn, is a predominantly Irish-American working class neighborhood at the very north end of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by McLean Avenue to the north (slightly north of New York Cit ...

, he enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and fought in the Battle of Okinawa. After the war he studied music composition at

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

with Henry Cowell and Solomon Rosowsky, and with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

at the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

. Soon after completing his studies, he became music director of the Antioch Shakespeare Festival which was founded by

Arthur Lithgow Arthur Washington Lithgow III (September 9, 1915 – March 24, 2004) was an American actor and director. He helped pioneer the regional theater movement in the United States and founded two Shakespeare festivals. Early life Lithgow was born in ...

. He went on to hold similar posts at the Guthrie Theater, the

Long Wharf Theater Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Fou ...

and the American Shakespeare Festival; writing several compositions for plays presented by those organizations. He also wrote scores for the Broadway productions of

J. P. Donleavy James Patrick Donleavy (23 April 1926 – 11 September 2017) was an American-Irish novelist, short story writer and playwright. His best-known work is the novel ''The Ginger Man'', which was initially banned for obscenity. Early life Donleavy ...

's ''

The Ginger Man ''The Ginger Man'' is a novel, first published in Paris in 1955, by J. P. Donleavy. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in post-war 1947. Upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States of America by reason of obsce ...

'' and

Barbara Garson Barbara Garson (born July 7, 1941, Brooklyn) is an American playwright, author and social activist, perhaps best known for the play '' MacBird!'' Education and personal life Garson attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she e ...

's ''

MacBird! ''MacBird!'' is a 1966 satire by Barbara Garson. It was self-published ('Grassy Knoll Press') as a pamphlet, and the full text appeared in the December, 1966 issue of ''Ramparts'' magazine. It was staged in February, 1967. The play superimposes ...

''. He won two Emmy Awards for the music that he wrote for the documentaries: '' A Talent for Life: Jews of the Italian Renaissance'' (1979, NBC) and '' Heritage: Civilization and the Jews'' (1984, PBS). He was commissioned by the Sierra Club to compose "Symphony No. 1 — Utah" (premiered 1990 at Lincoln Center), and created "A Time for Remembrance," to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

for the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

. Duffy died at his home in Norfolk, Virginia in 2015 after a long battle with cancer. He was married to Dorothy Rouse-Bottom.

References

External links

Interview with John Duffy
January 25, 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, John 1926 births 2015 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American male musicians American classical composers American opera composers American film score composers American male classical composers American people of Irish descent Male opera composers American male film score composers Emmy Award winners Mannes School of Music alumni Classical musicians from Virginia Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Virginia