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Robert Beadell (June 18, 1925 – June 11, 1994) was an American composer.


Life

After military service as a bandsman with the United States Marines during the Second World War, Beadell enrolled in the music program at
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 ...
in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
, where his clarinet teacher, Dominick DiCaprio, encouraged him to study composition. At Northwestern his composition teachers were Robert Delaney and Anthony Donato, and he later studied with
Leo Sowerby Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid-20th century. His many s ...
at the American Conservatory in
Chicago 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 ...
, and with
Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...
at
Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...
. He first taught music theory and woodwinds at the Swinney Conservatory of Central Methodist College in
Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. ...
from 1950 to 1952, then joined the music faculty at the
University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
in
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...
, where he taught from 1954 to 1991. He died in 1994 aged 68.


Works

Beadell is best known for his choral compositions and arrangements, and music for jazz ensemble. He also wrote two symphonies, five film scores, song cycles, piano pieces, chamber music, and five stage works: an operetta, ''The Kingdom of Caraway'' (1957), a musical, ''Out to the Wind'' (1979, based on
Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...
's short story " Eric Hermannson's Soul"), and three operas, ''The Sweetwater Affair'' (1960, produced 1961), ''The Number of Fools'' (1965–66, rev. 1976), and ''Napoleon'' (1972, produced 1973). In 1967, he was commissioned by the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra Association for ''Mirage Flates'', for chorus and orchestra, using texts by Mari Sandoz. It was premiered on November 21, 1967, by the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by
Leo Kopp Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually mas ...
, in a concert of American music to mark the beginning of Kopp's 22nd year as conductor of the orchestra.


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beadell, Robert 1925 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American classical composers American jazz composers American male jazz composers American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers American opera composers American male opera composers Central Methodist University faculty Jazz-influenced classical composers Bienen School of Music alumni Pupils of Darius Milhaud University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty Northwestern University alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II 20th-century American male musicians