Ellis Bonoff Kohs (May 12, 1916 – May 17, 2000) was an American composer, theory textbook author, and Professor at 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 ...

Life and career

Born in Chicago to Pauline Bonoff, a school teacher of Russian Jewish extraction, and Samuel C. Kohs, Kohs grew up in San Francisco, where he undertook his early musical studies at the San Francisco Conservatory. In 1928 his family moved to New York where he entered the Institute of Musical Art. He continued his studies at the University of Chicago, studying composition with Carl Bricken. After he completed his master's degree there in 1938, he returned to New York and enrolled at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, where he studied composition with

Bernard Wagenaar Bernard Wagenaar (July 18, 1894 – May 19, 1971) was a Dutch-American composer, conductor and violinist. Wagenaar was born in Arnhem. He studied at Utrecht University before starting his career as a teacher and conductor in 1914. He moved to ...

. He also studied composition with Walter Piston and musicology with Willi Apel and Hugo Leichtentritt at Harvard University. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kohs conducted the Army and Air Force bands at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, Ga.; St. Joseph, Mo.; and Nashville. After the war he joined the faculty of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, where he taught composition from 1946 to 1948, and the Kansas City Conservatory, where he taught during the summers of 1946 and 1947. He moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1948 and undertook teaching positions at the

College of the Pacific College of the Pacific (less formally Pacific College) is the liberal arts college of the University of the Pacific, a private Methodist-affiliated university with its main campus in Stockton, California. The college offers degrees in the natural ...

and at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He began teaching at USC in 1950 where he remained on the faculty for 38 years, serving as chairman of the music theory department for several years. Kohs' stage works include ''Amerika'' (1969), an opera based on

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

's novel; ''Lohiau and Hiiaka'', a choreographed setting of a Hawaiian legend; and incidental music for

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' (1947). His orchestral works include a Concerto for Orchestra (1942), a Cello Concerto (1947), a Violin Concerto (1980) and two Symphonies (1950 and 1957). His vocal works included settings of Navajo songs and ''The Lord Ascendant'', based on ''The

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

''. He also composed solo and chamber music. A recording of Kohs' music, including the Chamber Concerto,

Passacaglia The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is typically based on a bass- ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin Th ...

for Organ and Strings,

Toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...

for Harpsichord or Piano, a Short Concert for String Quartet, and a

Sonatina A sonatina (French: “sonatine”, German: “Sonatine") is a small sonata. As a musical term, ''sonatina'' has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter and ...

for Violin and Piano was released on Composers Recordings, Inc. His Chamber Concerto was also included on a 1953

Columbia Masterworks Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation. Histor ...

"Modern American Music Series" LP (ML 4492). In addition to composing, Kohs wrote several

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

textbooks, including ''Music Theory, a Syllabus for Teacher and Student'' (1961), ''Musical Form: Studies in Analysis and Synthesis'' (1976), and ''Musical Composition: Projects in Ways and Means'' (1980). He died at a nursing home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

External links

Ellis B. Kohs papers
in th
Music Division
o

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/8zjb7

March 5, 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohs, Ellis Kohs Harvard University alumni Wesleyan University faculty Stanford University Department of Music faculty 1916 births 2000 deaths University of Southern California faculty University of the Pacific (United States) faculty University of Chicago alumni Juilliard School alumni Musicians from Chicago American people of Russian-Jewish descent Pupils of Walter Piston 20th-century American composers