Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer (July 28, 1935 – July 21, 2009) was one of the foremost scholars in African-American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

Life and career

Boyer received a B.A. from Bethune-Cookman College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

. He and his brother James had a career as singers under the name the Famous Boyer Brothers. The brothers recorded for Excello (1952), Chance (1954),

Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

(1955 and 1957), Nashboro and

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

(1966 and 1967). He appeared with such artists as

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel music, gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was ...

James Cleveland James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the "King of Gospel," Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating ...

, Alex Bradford, Clara Ward, and Dorothy Love Coates. As an educator, he taught at several universities, including the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

(1973-1999), Albany State College (GA), the University of Central Florida at Orlando and Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music where he served as Senior Research Fellow and visiting professor in 1992. He directed many choirs and gospel workshops throughout the world, including annual events such as the Gospel Music Festival in Boulder, CO which he led from 1988 to 2008. The author of the 1995 book, ''How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Music'', which received high praise from ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'', Dr. Boyer was instrumental in introducing African-American gospel music to many communities beyond the African-American church. He served as guest curator of musical history at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

from 1985 to 1986, and was Distinguished Scholar-at-Large at

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

in 1986 and 1987, where he conducted the famed

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early ...

. He was an advisor on gospel music to the New Grove Dictionary of American Music and was editor of the 1993 edition of the African American hymnal, ''Lift Every Voice and Sing, II''. Horace Boyer published over 40 articles on gospel music in publications that included the ''

Music Educators Journal The ''Music Educators Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers in the field of education. The editor-in-chief is Ella Wilcox, and the Academic Editor is Corin Overland (University of Miami). It was established in 1914 and ...

'', the ''Black Music Research Journal'' and ''Black Perspectives in Music''. He was the 2009 recipient of the

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

of The

Society for American Music The Society for American Music (SAM) was founded in 1975 and was first named the Sonneck Society in honor of Oscar George Theodore Sonneck, early Chief of the Music Division in the Library of Congress and pioneer scholar of American music. The S ...

, an award whose past recipients include Robert Stevenson, Eileen Southern,

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

, H. Wiley Hitchcock, Bill C. Malone, Adrienne Fried Block, Vivian Perlis,

Charles Hamm Charles Edward Hamm (April 21, 1925 – October 16, 2011) was an American musicologist, writer, composer, and music educator. He is credited with being the first music historian to seriously study and write about American popular music. He also w ...

and other important musicologists, historians and educators.

References

Additional references

*Boyer, Horace Clarence. ''How Sweet the Sound''. . *Reagon, Bernice Johnson. ''We'll Understand It Better By and By: Pioneering African American Gospel Composers''. .

External links

PBS biography

WNCU obituary

UMass Amherst obituaryInterview with Horace Clarence Boyer, Musicologist (2000)
''Jubilee Singers'' Interviews Collection, American Archive of Public Broadcasting {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Horace Clarence 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American gospel singers African-American Christians American performers of Christian music 1935 births 2009 deaths