John Ness Beck (November 11, 1930 – June 25, 1987) was an American composer and arranger of

choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

music, best known for his settings of traditional

Sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as a ritual. Reli ...

. His works are frequently performed by high school, college, church, community, and professional choirs across the globe today.

Biography

John Ness Beck was born in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...

. After graduating from

Warren G. Harding High School Warren G. Harding High School is a public high school in Warren, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Warren City School District. Sports teams are called the Raiders, and they compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Associatio ...

in 1948, he enrolled at The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. In 1952 he graduated from Ohio State with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in English. After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. During this time, he became increasingly involved in arranging for various musical groups. After his discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in music with composition as his major. Beck was a faculty member of the Ohio State University School of Music for seven years, teaching harmony and theory. He left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

. In this capacity, he was able to observe the business side of the music industry, gaining insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising. As his compositions found their way into print and popularity, he joined forces in 1972 with John Tatgenhorst in the creation of Beckenhorst Press. His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various musical clinics and festivals throughout the country. He remained active in the field until his death from cancer in 1987.

John Ness Beck Foundation

Beck established the John Ness Beck Foundation in 1987, only a few months before his death. The Foundation was established in memory of

Randall Thompson Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 – July 9, 1984) was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works. Career Thompson attended The Lawrenceville School, where his father was an English teacher. He then attended Harvard University ...

and Joseph W. Clokey. It recognizes outstanding achievement in choral composition and arrangement of traditional church music, enhances and furthers the careers, study, education and experience of promising composers and arrangers, and promotes and stimulates the learning of choral composition and traditional church music. The stated goal of the foundation is to encourage and promote the writing of traditional sacred music. The Foundation has sought to honor this goal in several ways. For several years, scholarships were awarded to students from the

Westminster Choir College Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music, currently operating on the campus of Rider University, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences (the college under which the historic institution has ...

and the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

who exhibited promise in the writing of sacred choral music. At present, the Foundation has embarked on a program which recognizes current composers of traditional sacred choral music by selecting two compositions yearly which best exemplify the type of writing that fit the criteria set forth by John Beck.

Arrangements and compositions

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Church (Newark), Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New ...

* And in That Day * And the Child Grew * Anthem of Unity * The Armor of God * As the Rain * Assurance * Battle Cry of Freedom * Benediction (God Be With You Til We Meet Again) * Canticle of Praise * Celebration * A Child's Noel * Christmas Carols and Codas *---

Angels We Have Heard On High "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol to the hymn tune "Gloria" from a traditional French song of unknown origin called "", with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick. The song's subject is the birth of Jesus Christ as narr ...

*---

The First Noel "The First Nowell" (or Nowel), modernised as "The First Noel" (or Noël), is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.. It is listed as number 682 in the Ro ...

*--- Good Christian Men, Rejoice *---

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it ...

*---

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...

*--- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks * Christmas Welcome * Consecration * Contemporary Music for the Church Service * Cry Aloud * Devotion * Divided Our Pathways * Ease My Mind, Lord * Easter Canticle * The Easter Vigil of Mary Magdalene * Every Perfect Gift * Every Valley * Exhortation * Faith of Our Fathers * Foundation * Gethsemane * Gloria * The God of Abraham Praise * God of Grace * Have Ye Not Known? * He Shall Feed His Flock * Help Us Accept Each Other * A Holy Festival * A Hymn for Advent * Hymn for Easter Day * Hymn for Our Time * Hymn of Courage * Hymn of Fellowship * Hymn to David * Hymn to God the Father * I Can Do All Things *

I Need Thee Every Hour Annie Hawks (May 28, 1836 - January 3, 1918) was an American poet and gospel hymnist whose compositions number over 400. She contributed to several popular Sunday school hymnbooks, with her best-known song being "I Need Thee Every Hour". Other we ...

* If You Love Me * In Heavenly Love * In Memoriam * Interpreted By Love * It Is Well With My Soul * A Joyful Noise * Jubilant Canticle * Jubilo, Jubilate * The King of Love My Shepherd Is * Kingsfold Feel the Winds of God Today* Let Us Break Bread Together * Litany of Thanksgiving * Look for a Sunrise * Lord, Here Am I * Lullaby * The Name of Jesus * A New Heart I Will Give You * O Come, Let Us Sing * O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing * O Love That Will Not Let Me Go *

Of the Father's Love Begotten "Of the Father's heart begotten" alternatively known as "Of the Father's love begotten" is a doctrinal hymn based on the Latin poem "Corde natus" by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his ''Liber Cathemerinon'' (hymn no. IX) beginning "Da ...

* Offertory *

Once in Royal David's City Once in Royal David's City is a Christmas carol originally written as a poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in her hymnbook ''Hymns for Little Children''. A year later, the English organist Henry Gauntlett d ...

* Osanna * Prayer to Jesus *

Psalm 24 Psalm 24 is the 24th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The earth is the 's, and the fulness thereof". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and th ...

Psalm 46 Psalm 46 is the 46th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin ...

Psalm 67 Psalm 67 is the 67th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us". In Latin, it is known as "Deus misereatur". In the slightly different ...

Psalm 121 Psalm 121 is the 121st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint ...

* The Quiet Heart * Rejoice in the Lord Alway * Rejoice, the Lord Is King * The Shepherds * Sing Unto Him * Something * Song of Exaltation * Song of Hope * Song of Moses * Song of the Apostle * Speak to Me, Lord * The Spirit Leads On and On * A Spiritual Song * Still, Still With Thee * Strong Son of God, Immortal Love * The Sunlit Hour * Tenting Tonight * Thanksgiving! * There's a Song in the Air * Thou Art God! * Two Carols for Advent * Upon This Rock * Variants On an Irish Hymn * Victory * Visions of St. John * We Gather Together * When Morning Gilds the Skies * Where Is the Child? * Who Shall Separate Us? * Ye Shall Go Out With Joy * The Young Lions

External links

John Ness Beck Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, John Ness 1930 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians American choral conductors American male conductors (music) American male composers Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Warren, Ohio Sacred music composers Warren G. Harding High School alumni