John Walter Pozdro (August 14, 1923January 1, 2009) was 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

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by Theodore Baker, PhD, and published in 1900 by G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in ...

describes his music as “inherently pragmatic, with

tertian In music theory, ''tertian'' (, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of (major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasses 3 semitone i ...

torsion resulting in the formation of tastefully enriched triadic harmony, and with asymmetric rhythms enhancing the throbbing pulse of musical continuity.”

Biography

Pozdro was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on August 14, 1923 of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent. He began taking

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

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, ...

lessons at an early age with Nina Shafran. He then studied piano and music theory with

Edward Joseph Collins Edward Joseph Collins (November 10, 1886 – December 1, 1951) was an American pianist, conductor and composer of classical music in a neoromantic style. Life and career Collins was born in Joliet, Illinois, into an Irish family – his father ...

at the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservat ...

. After service in the

Military Intelligence Division The Military Intelligence Division was the military intelligence branch of the United States Army and United States Department of War from May 1917 (as the Military Intelligence Section, then Military Intelligence Branch in February 1918, then ...

of 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 ...

, he entered

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. There, he studied wit
Robert Mills Delaney
and received his

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 ...

in 1948 and

Master of Music The Master of Music (MM or MMus) is, as an academic title, the first graduate degree in music awarded by universities and conservatories. The MM combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually performance in singing or i ...

in 1949. He later studied at 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 ...

with

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty year ...

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

, and Wayne Barlow earning his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Composition in 1958. Pozdro had his first teaching position at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls from 1949 to 1950. He was also a visiting professor at

and a teaching fellow at the

. From 1950 to December 1992, he was a faculty member of the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. He served as their Department Chairman of Theory and Composition from 1961 to 1988. He also served as the chairman of the annua
Symposium of Contemporary American Music
from 1958 to 1967. He was commissioned by the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the

Music Teachers National Association Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loca ...

, Concerts for Young Audiences, the

Washington Performing Arts Society Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...

, the Stanton Memorial Foundation, and

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) is a professional association of carillonneurs in North America, dedicated to the advancement of the art, literature, and science of the carillon. It was founded in Ottawa, Canada, in 1936 by A ...

. He has had articles published in
American Music Teacher
', ''The Composer'', and ''College Music Symposium'', among others. His article in ''American Music Teacher'' on the nature of nonfunctional tertian harmonic progression was the first such on the subject.

Awards and honors

Pozdro received the Bernard Fink Award for Outstanding Classroom Teaching in 1961, and he was selected as one of Kansas University’s outstanding teachers in 1970. He was the recipient of a grant from the

National Endowment of 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 ...

in 1976, a citation from the American Council of Polish Cultural Arts in 1978, and awards from the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

for achievement in the field of serious music annually from 1965 until 2003. His ''Third Symphony'' was nominated for the

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

. In 1993 he served as the guest composer at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

where he was presented with the University of Californi
Berkeley Medal
He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity.

Works

*''Elegy'', trumpet and piano *''Hello Kansas'', musical *''Impression for Handbells'' *''Impressions for Woodwinds and Piano'' *''Interlude'', flute, B-flat clarinet, French Horn, and bassoon *''Malooley and the Fear Monster'', opera *''Piece for Cello and Piano'' *''Quintet for Piano and Woodwinds'' *''Rip City'', marching band, arr. James Barnes *''Sextet (Rhapsody for Flute and Strings)'' *''Sonata for Brass Choir and Percussion'' *''Sonatine for Violin and Piano'' *''Transmogrifications'', percussion, arr. Steve Riley *''Two Pieces for Cello and Piano''

Choral works

*''All Pleasant Things'' *''All Pleasant Things (Solo)'' *''Alleluia'' *''How Many and Varied are Your Works'' *''Spirit of Mount Oread'' *''The Carol of the Shepherds'' *''The Creation (All Things Bright and Beautiful)'' *''The King of Glory'' *''The Light'' *''The Night'' *''The Rain'' *''They That Go Down To The Sea In Ships''

Works for carillon

*''Landscape for Carillon'' *''Landscape II: Ostinato for Carillon'' *''Rustic Landscape'' *''The Winds of Autumn'' *''Triptych for Carillon'' *''Variations on a Slavonic Theme''

Works for orchestra

*''Cynical Overture'' *''Lament of Judas'' *''March'' (Unfinished assignment) *''Miniature Suite'' *''Rondo Gioioso'' *''Waterlow Park''

Symphonies

*''Symphonic Piece'' *''First Symphony (In One Movement)'' *''Second Symphony'' *''Third Symphony''

Works for Piano

*''A Little March'' *''Ballade-fantasy'' *''For Nancy'' *''March'' *''Piano Sonata No. 1 (Sonata for Piano)'' *''Piano Sonata No. 2'' *''Piano Sonata No. 3'' *''Piano Sonata No. 4'' *''Piano Sonata No. 5'' *''Piano Sonata No. 6'' *''Prelude'' *''Preludes I-IV'' *''Preludes V-VII'' *''Rondo'' *''Three Short Pieces (Prelude, Waltz, March)'' *''Waltz Sentimento''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozdro, John 1923 births 2009 deaths American male composers Composers for carillon Musicians from Chicago 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians