Douglas Townsend (New York, November 8, 1921 – New York, August 1, 2012) was an American composer and musicologist. Born in Manhattan, Townsend became interested in composition while a student at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He taught himself composition, counterpoint and orchestration. In 1941, he began studying composition privately, with

Tibor Serly Tibor Serly (; Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary, 25 November 1901 – London, 8 October 1978) was a Hungarian violist, violinist, and composer. Life Serly was the son of Lajos Serly, a pupil of Franz Liszt and a composer of songs and operettas in ...

Stefan Wolpe Stefan Wolpe (25 August 1902, Berlin – 4 April 1972, New York City) was a German-born American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz mov ...

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

Otto Luening Otto Clarence Luening (June 15, 1900 – September 2, 1996) was a German-American composer and conductor, and flutist. He was an early pioneer of tape music and electronic music. Biography Luening was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to German par ...

and Felix Greissle, among others. Townsend taught at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

, CUNY (1958–69),

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

, CUNY (1970–71), the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...

(Connecticut; 1973–5) and Purchase College (also known as SUNY Purchase) (1973–6). From 1977 to 1980, he was editor of Musical Heritage Review. Townsend’s research into 18th- and 19th-century music has resulted in editions, recordings and performances, most notably of a

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; ; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works an ...

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

and a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

by Sigismund Neukomm. He received research grants from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund (1965) and the New York State Council on the Arts (1975).Lance W. Brunner. The ''

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). and Townsend’s compositions include several orchestral works, chamber music pieces, choral works, film and television scores, three operettas, and one opera. While still a high school student, he won a nationwide contest for student composers;

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

led the CBS Symphony Orchestra in a radio broadcast performance of the winning composition, ''Contra Dances''. Seven years later, Townsend achieved public notice as a composer when pianist

Ray Lev Ray Lev (May 8, 1912 – May 20, 1968) was an American classical pianist. One year after her birth in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, her father, a synagogue cantor, and mother, a concert singer, brought her to the United States. Life She started sing ...

performed the premiere of his ''Sonatina No. 1'' at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Townsend's own compositions generally used traditional forms and tonality. Townsend was married twice. His first marriage was to Anne-Marie Findley, and produced three children, Jonathan, Adam, and April. His second wife, Jean, survived him, as do his children from his first marriage.

References

External links

Biographical sketch of Douglas Townsend at American Music Center web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Douglas 1921 births 2012 deaths Lehman College faculty Brooklyn College faculty State University of New York faculty University of Bridgeport American male classical composers American opera composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American musicologists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American classical composers 21st-century American musicologists Classical musicians from New York (state) Composers from New York City Musicians from Manhattan