Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Anderson, Jr. (born August 17, 1928) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Early life

Born in

Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is the only city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike ...

, Anderson has written over 80 works ranging from operas and symphonies to choral pieces, chamber music, and band music. He has composed commissioned works for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and cellist

Yo Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American cellist. Born to Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, Ma moved with his fami ...

Education

The beginning of his college education was at

West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Color ...

. He then attended

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and received his bachelor's degree there in music. Afterwards at that same school in 1951 he got his master's degree in

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as primary education, elementary or secondary education, secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a rese ...

. He earned a Ph.D. in composition 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 1958, and was Austin Fletcher Professor of Music Emeritus at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, from 1972 to his retirement in 1990.

Work and musical influence

Anderson worked at

Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...

Langston, Oklahoma Langston is a town in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 1,619 as of the 2020 United States census. Langston is home to Langston University, the only historically black c ...

, as a music professor from 1958 to 1963. There, he became the chair of the music department. He was professor of music at

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

from 1963 to 1969. While there, he was named composer in residence with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He had a three-year tenure with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra from 1968 to 1971. During the period of time he spent with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Anderson orchestrated

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

's opera, ''

Treemonisha ''Treemonisha'' (1911) is an opera by American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. It is sometimes referred to as a "ragtime opera", though Joplin did not refer to it as such and it encompasses a wide range of musical styles. The music of ''Treemoni ...

'', originally written in 1911. In 1972, Joplin's opera appeared on stage in full for the very first time. The first opera that Anderson wrote was ''Soldier Boy''. This work was based on a libretto by

Leon Forrest Leon Richard Forrest (January 8, 1937 – November 6, 1997) was an African-American novelist who taught at Northwestern University from 1973 until his death. His four major novels used mythology, history, and humor to explore "Forest County," a f ...

, who was a good friend of Anderson. ''Soldier Boy'' was commissioned by Indiana University. After it, came other works, such as ''Walker'' which was about David Walker, an anti-slavery activist. In 1972, Anderson was hired as a professor of music and department chair at

in Medford, Massachusetts, where he worked until 1990. In 2002, the

Cantata Singers and Ensemble The Cantata Singers and Ensemble is a choir and orchestral ensemble located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1964 to perform and preserve the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (a body of works largely unknown in Boston at that time), the gro ...

commissioned Anderson to create an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

''Slavery Documents 2''. The work was based on

Donald Sur Donald Young Sur (1 February 1935 – 24 May 1999) was a Korean American composer and musicologist. Although he is best known for his large-scale oratorio, ''Slavery Documents'', most of his works were composed for small chamber ensembles. Sur was ...

's ''Slavery Documents'' and Loren Schweininger's ''The Southern Debate Over Slavery''. Anderson also taught at institutions in France, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.

Awards and honors

In 1983, he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

degree by the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

.Bates College: Citation for Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Anderson
Bates College. Retrieved April 30, 2019. In 2007,

awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music.

Family

Anderson has three children: Janet, Anita, and Thomas J. Anderson, III (who also goes by "T.J."), is a poet and professor of English at

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, Virginia, Botetourt Springs, it is Timeline of women's colleges in the Un ...

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

. The younger Anderson is married to Pauline Kaldas, a poet, author, and fellow English professor at

Unitarian Universalism

Anderson served from 1986 to 1991 on the commission that produced ''

Singing the Living Tradition ''Singing the Living Tradition'' is a hymnal published by the Unitarian Universalist Association. History First published in 1993 by the Hymnbook Resources Commission of the UUA, it was meant to be much more inclusive in both gender referenc ...

'', a hymnal published by the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Ch ...

in 1993. He is a member of the U.U. congregation at

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

Notes

References

*Perkins Holly, Ellistine. ''Biographies of Black Composers and Songwriters; A Supplementary Textbook''. Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1990.

External links

T.J. Anderson's website

Bates College: Thomas Jefferson AndersonDatabase of Recorded American Music: Anderson, T.J.

January 26, 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, T. J. 1928 births Living people American male conductors (music) African-American conductors (music) American male classical composers Pupils of Darius Milhaud African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers 21st-century American conductors (music) Penn State College of Arts and Architecture alumni University of Iowa alumni West Virginia State University alumni Tennessee State University faculty Langston University faculty Tufts University faculty Penn State College of Education alumni