Arthur Cunningham (born Piermont, New York on November 11, 1928, died Nyack, New York on March 31, 1997) was an American composer and educator. His students included singer Kate Davidson, producer/engineer Peter Francovilla, and pianist John Ellis.

Biography

Cunningham began writing music at the age of 12 to be performed with his jazz band. He attended

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

(BA 1951), Juilliard, (1951–1952) and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's Teachers College, attaining his Master's in 1957. The National Association of Negro Musicians gave a concert of his works in 1951. Cunningham served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1955 to 1957 and wrote music for army bands, as well as for television. Cunningham wrote seven large-scale works for the stage between 1963 and 1973, mixing many styles of popular music including

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. Some of his words are similar to, and predate, rock opera.

Stage works

*''Patsy Patch and Susan’s Dream'' (rock musical for children;

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Cunningham; first performance

Orangeburg, New York Orangeburg is a hamlet and census-designated place, in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Tappan, south of Blauvelt, east of Pearl River and west of Piermont. The population was 4,568 at the 2 ...

, 27 April 1963) *''The Beauty Part'' (musical show with improvised piano accompaniment; libretto by S. J. Perelman; first performance Blauvelt, New York, at Rockland County Playhouse, 13 Aug 1963) *''Violetta'', 1963 (musical, based upon J. Audiberti's ''Le mal court'') *''Ostrich Feathers'' (rock musical play for children; libretto by B. Brenner; first performance New York, Martinique Theatre, 16 Nov 1965) *''Concentrics'', an orchestral piece commissioned and premiered by 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 ...

on February 2, 1969, at Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center *''His Natural Grace'', 1969 ( rock opera, libretto by Cunningham) *''Night Song'', 1973 (theatre piece, unperformed. Texts in Swahili, Gullah, and English) *''House by the Sea'' (libretto by Cunningham; incomplete)

References

*Wright, Josephine. "Cunningham, Arthur". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. *Kozinn, Allan
"Arthur Cunningham, Jazz Pianist and Roving Composer, Dies at 68".
''The New York Times, April 3, 1997''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Arthur 1928 births 1997 deaths African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers American male classical composers People from Piermont, New York 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians Juilliard School alumni Fisk University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni United States Army soldiers United States military musicians 20th-century African-American musicians