Lloyd Ultan (

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 ...

, June 12, 1929 – October 26, 1998) was an American composer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

Career

Ultan received a bachelor's degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, a master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and a doctorate from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. In 1971, he founded, and, from 1971 to 1974, served as Director of the Composer's Residency Program at Wolf Trap Farm Park in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

. Ultan served as chairman of the Department of Music at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for 13 years, and spent a year as visiting professor of Composition and Theory at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He has also lectured at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and been a visiting composer on numerous college and university campuses in the United States. He was a professor and chairman (and later emeritus professor and chairman) of composition, music theory, and electronic and computer music at the School of Music

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, and also served as the Director of the Electronic/Computer Music Studio. He was responsible for founding the School of Music and served as its director from 1975 to 1986. He composed over 60 works for a wide variety of genres including electronic music, solo and chamber works, and compositions for voice. His works have been performed and broadcast throughout the world, including in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. His works have been performed by the

Tokyo String Quartet The were an international string quartet that operated from 1969 to 2013. History The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Profess ...

, the Pro Arte String Quartet, the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...

, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the

Boston Symphony The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO perfor ...

William Blount William Blount ( ; April 6, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American politician, landowner and Founding Father who was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitution ...

, Alexander Braginsky, Young Nam Kim, Tanya Remenikova, and Thomas Murray. He has written numerous articles and a book, ''Music Theory: Compositional Problems and Practices in the Middle Ages and Renaissance'' (with an accompanying workbook/anthology). Ultan's notable students include Edie Hill and Scott L. Miller. Among his numerous fellowships, grants, and awards were a Rockefeller Foundation Residency Fellowship and three residencies at the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

, with a Norlin/MacDowell Outstanding Composer of the Year Award for 1982. The 160-sea
Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall
at the University of Minnesota's School of Music (Donald N. Ferguson Hall) is named for him.

Selected works

Orchestral * Symphony No.2 (1961) Concertante * ''Carlisle Concerto'' for Piano and Orchestra (1958) * Concerto for Organ and Chamber Orchestra (1979) * Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1982) * Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1990) Chamber music * Sonata for Cello and Piano (1962) * String Quartet (1964) * Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet (1966) * ''4 Children's Pieces'' for Violin and Piano (1969) * ''Set for Four'', Miniatures for Solo Flute (1973) * ''Meditation'' for Harp and Flute (1975) * Quintet for Brass and Piano (1975) * Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (1975) * Sonata for Viola and Piano (1976) * Suite for Brass Quintet (1979) * ''Dialogues II'' for Viola and Cello (1980) * String Quartet No.2 (1980) * ''Dialogues III'' for Violin and Viola (1982) * String Trio (1985) * ''Curved Mirrors'' for Oboe, Clarinet and Piano (1995) * ''Monadnock Moods'' for Solo Clarinet (1995) * Sonatine for Unaccompanied Bassoon (1997) Vocal * ''Epithalamium Brevis'' for Soprano (or Tenor), Violin, Viola and Cello * ''Love's Not Time's Fool'' for Soprano, Violin and Viola (1995) * ''Voices of the River'' for Soprano, Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Violin, Viola and Cello (1995)

Books

*Ultan, Lloyd (1999). "Electronic Music: An American Voice." In ''Perspectives on American Music Since 1950'', ed. James R. Heintze. Essays in American Music series, vol. 4. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, vol. 1953. New York: Garland. . *Ultan, Lloyd (1977). ''Music Theory: Compositional Problems and Practices in the Middle Ages and Renaissance''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. .

Discography

* Open Boundaries (with Mary Ellen Childs and Paul Schoenfield, out on Innova)

External links

Lloyd Ultan biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultan, Lloyd American male classical composers New York University alumni Columbia University alumni University of Iowa alumni American University faculty University of Minnesota people 20th-century American classical composers 1929 births 1998 deaths Academics of the Royal College of Music 20th-century American male musicians