Donald Grantham (born November 9, 1947) is 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 def ...

and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

educator. Grantham was born in

Duncan, Oklahoma Duncan is a city in and the county seat of Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. Its population was 22,310 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centrally located in Stephens County, Duncan became the county seat after Oklahoma achie ...

. After receiving a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, he went on to receive his MM and DMA from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. For two summers he studied under famed French composer and pedagogue,

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

at the

American Conservatory The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''. History When the American Expeditionary Forces entered the First World War, the command ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. His music has won many prestigious awards, including the Prix Lili Boulanger, the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize, and First Prize in the National Opera Association's Biennial Composition Competition. Grantham is the recipient of a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and three separate grants from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. The

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

are among the ensembles that have performed Grantham's works. He also collaborated with fellow composer Kent Kennan to author the

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

''The Technique of Orchestration.'' Grantham currently teaches

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Butler School of Music, where he is the Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Centennial Professor of Music. Well-known pieces include Southern Harmony and Kentucky Harmony for band. His most famous piece is the Baron Cimetiere's Mambo.

References

Biography
on Naxos website
Profile
on

Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is an international music fraternity. It was established in 1903 at the University School of Music in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sigma Alpha Iota is a member of the National Interfraternity Music Council and the Professional Frater ...

website *
Donald Grantham
''The Alcalde'' 74, 1, Mar–Apr 1983, p. 10, Emmis Communications

External links

*
"Donald Grantham, Professor of Composition"
– Profile on Butler School of Music website

November 16, 1991 1947 births 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American classical composers American male classical composers Living people Distinguished Service to Music Medal recipients Texas classical music USC Thornton School of Music alumni University of Oklahoma alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians {{Oklahoma-stub