Richard Peaslee (June 13, 1930, New York NY – August 20, 2016) was a composer who worked in a variety of idioms, including chorus, orchestra, dance, and soundtracks for film and television, but he was most active as a composer for the theatre.

Education

He received his undergraduate degree in Music Composition from Yale University, and after serving two years in the U.S. Army, received a master's degree from The

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, in addition to studying privately with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in Paris and William Russo in New York and London.

Works

He had written the music for:

London

*the

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

/ Royal Shakespeare Company productions of ''

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...

'', ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

'', ''US'' / ''Tell Me Lies'' and ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' ( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in arou ...

''; * Peter Hall / National Theatre ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...

''; *

Terry Hands Terence David Hands (9 January 1941 – 4 February 2020) was an English theatre director. He founded the Liverpool Everyman Theatre and ran the Royal Shakespeare Company for thirteen years during one of the company's most successful periods; h ...

/ RSC '' Tamburlaine the Great''; *and the musical ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant white ...

''.

New York City

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created a y ...

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions a ...

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'', ''Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2'', ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. M ...

'' and ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

''; *

Martha Clarke Martha Clarke (born June 3, 1944) is an American theater director and choreographer noted for her multidisciplinary approach to theatre, dance, and opera productions. Her best-known original work is ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' (1984, re-im ...

and Music Theatre Group
The Garden of Earthly Delights
'' Vienna Lusthaus'', '' The Hunger Artist'' and '' Miracolo d'Amore''; *Broadway ''Indians'', '' Teibele and Her Demon'', ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...

'' and ''

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

''; *children's / family theatre ''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Saml ...

'', '' The Children's Crusade'' and '' Tanglewood Tales''; and an opera, ''

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of f ...

''. * Golden Fleece Ltd., The Composers Chamber Theater

Dance

*''

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...

'', commissioned and performed by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

*''The Four Humours'', commissioned and performed by the Pilobolus dance company

Film and television

His film scores include the

films ''

'' (1967) and '' Tell Me Lies'' (1968). His music for television includes the Emmy-nominated score for

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of th ...

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...

series '' The Power of Myth'', Claudia Shear's ''Blown Sideways Through Life'' (''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

''), and Time/Life's '' Wild, Wild World of Animals''.

Symphonic and jazz works

Peaslee's works have been performed by the Philadelphia, Detroit, Seattle, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Buffalo Symphony Orchestras; William Russo's London Jazz Orchestra, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Stan Kenton and Ted Heath Orchestras and Gerry Mulligan. ''Arrows of Time'' for Solo Trombone and Band was composed in 1993 for Joseph Alessi and the United States Army Band.

Awards

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headq ...

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro- union musical '' The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the ...

award *

Obie The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

Villager Award Villager may refer to: * A person from a village Newspapers * ''The Villager'' (Austin, Texas), a free weekly newspaper of Austin, Texas, serving the African-American community * ''The Villager'', a weekly newspaper in Namibia * The ''Villager ...

* NEA fellowships. * NYFA fellowships.

References

External links

Richard Peaslee's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peaslee, Richard Ballet composers 1930 births 2016 deaths