Bruce Saylor (born April 24, 1946,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

) is an American composer.

Biography

Saylor was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. In 1952, his family moved to Springfield Township, just outside the city, where he attended suburban public schools. Active as a musician in high school, he played, sang, and conducted. During this time, Saylor also functioned as the organist and choirmaster of a small Anglo-Catholic parish in the city. He attended the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...

from 1964 to 1969, where he studied composition with

Hugo Weisgall Hugo David Weisgall (October 13, 1912 – March 11, 1997) was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions. He was born in Ivančice, Moravia (then part of Austria-Hungary, later in his childhoo ...

and

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

. From 1969 to 1970, he studied with

Goffredo Petrassi Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.Petrassi, Goffredo. (2008). I ...

at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints promi ...

in Rome under a

Fulbright fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. He received his PhD in 1978 from the City University of New York Graduate Center, where he studied composition with Weisgall and

George Perle George Perle (6 May 1915 – 23 January 2009) was an American composer and music theorist. As a composer, his music was largely atonal, using methods similar to the twelve-tone technique of the Second Viennese School. This serialist style, ...

, and theory with Felix Salzer. Saylor won numerous prizes and scholarships during his years at Juilliard as both a student and a teaching fellow there. In 1970, he began teaching at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

. From 1976 to 1979, he taught at New York University, then was appointed a

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitt ...

professor at Queens. He has won fellowships and awards from the

National Society of Arts and Letters The National Society of Arts and Letters (known by its abbreviation NSAL) is an American non-profit group founded in 1944 as a women's organization to assist promising young artists through arts competitions, scholarships and other career oppor ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headq ...

(Charles E. Ives Scholarship and Music Award), the

Ingram Merrill Foundation The Ingram Merrill Foundation was a private foundation established in the mid-1950s by poet James Merrill (1926-1995), using funds from his substantial family inheritance.J. D. McClatchyBraving the Elements ''The New Yorker'', 27 March 1995. Retriev ...

and the Guggenheim Foundation. As of 2012, he is a professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens as well as at the City University of New York Graduate Center in Manhattan.

Works

Saylor’s musical idiom evolved from highly dissonant

neo-classicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

, though dense chromaticism, to a more streamlined harmonic language. Though he has written instrumental works such as ''Turns and Mordents'' for flute and orchestra, ''Notturno'' for piano and orchestra, ''Archangel'' for large orchestra, ''Cantilena'' for strings, and much chamber music, Saylor’s vocal music dominates his output. His two-act opera '' Orpheus Descending'' was premiered in 1994 at end of his stint as composer-in-residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago. J. D. McClatchy fashioned the libretto from the

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

play. He has also written two one-act operas: ''My Kinsman, Major Molineux'', after

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

, and ''The Scrimshaw Violin'', after the story of Jonathan Levi. The poetry of

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for '' Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist ly ...

has inspired ''Songs from Water Street'', ''Five Old Favorites'', incidental music for live readings of ''Voices From Sandover'', and instrumental music as well. His vocal chamber music has most often been performed and recorded by his wife, the mezzo-soprano Constance Beavon, who created Saylor's monodrama ''It Had Wings'', a story by Allan Gurganus. Saylor has written ten substantial pieces for chorus and orchestra, among them ''The Idea of Us'' and ''The Book in Your Hearts'' (both to texts by J. D. McClatchy), ''The Star Song'' ( Robert Herrick), ''Dreams'' (slave narratives and spirituals), and ''Proud Music of the Storm'' (

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

and

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

). He has written several elaborate scores for Nine Circles Chamber Theater, among them ''The Inferno of Dante'' and ''Falling Bodies''. He has also been composer in residence at The Yard, an artists’ colony for dancers and choreographers on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes th ...

. Additionally, Saylor has composed numerous works for religious or ceremonial occasions in a tonal idiom: ''O Freedom!'' for

President Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

’s Second Inaugural, ''Grand Central'' for the rededication of

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern termi ...

, ''Fanfares and Echoes'' for the

Bibliothèque Nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national reposito ...

, ''In Praise of Jerusalem'' (

Psalm 122 Psalm 122 is the 122nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I was glad" and in Latin entitled Laetatus sum. It is attributed to King David and one of the fifteen psalms described as A song of ascents (S ...

) for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

’s visit to New York City, two Christmas recordings for soprano

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

, and concert arrangements of sacred music by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

for Norman’s ''Honor!'' festival for Carnegie Hall in 2009. Saylor has written dozens of anthems, hymn tunes, and service music for church and concert use.

Discography

* ''Songs from Water Street'' * ''Four Psalms'' * ''See You in the Morning'' * ''Quattro Passi'' * ''Cantos from The Inferno'' * ''Five Old Favorites'' * ''Carillon Te Deum'' * ''Jessye Norman "In The Spirit : Sacred Music for Christmas"'' * ''Jessye Norman at Notre-Dame''

External links

* http://qcpages.qc.edu/music/index.php?L=0&M=33 * http://web.gc.cuny.edu/music/faculty/saylor.html * http://www.gdaf.org/gloriae_dei_arts_directors.php?name=saylor * https://web.archive.org/web/20110102065923/http://www.paracletepress.com/bruce-saylor-c.html * https://brucesaylorcomposer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Saylor, Bruce 1946 births American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Living people Juilliard School alumni American opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Philadelphia 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Pupils of Roger Sessions