Ulysses Simpson Kay (January 7, 1917 in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

– May 20, 1995 in Englewood,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

) 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 ...

. His

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

is mostly neoclassical in style.

Life and career

Kay, the nephew of the classic jazz musician

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wro ...

, studied piano, violin and saxophone.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene
"African Heritage Symphonic Series"
Liner note essay.

Cedille Records Cedille Records () is the independent record label of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. History In 1989, James Ginsburg, the son of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records as a for-profit clas ...

CDR061. He attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, where he was encouraged by the African-American composer

William Grant Still William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, and more than thirty choral works, art songs, chamber music, and solo works ...

. He went for graduate work to 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 ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and there worked under

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 ...

and Bernard Rogers. Ulysses Kay met the eminent neoclassical composer

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

in the summer of 1941 at the Berkshire Music Center and followed Hindemith to

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

for a formative year of study from 1941 to 1942. After a stint as a musician in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kay studied at

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 ...

under Otto Luening with the assistance of a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. In addition to this prize, Kay received a series of five other significant awards in the year following his discharge from the Navy including the Alice M. Ditson Fellowship, a grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an award from the American Composers and American Broadcasting Company, a $500 award from the third annual George Gershwin Memorial Contest for "A Short Overture," and a $700 award from the American Composers Alliance for his "Suite for Orchestra." Following this successful period, he lived and studied further in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

from 1949 to 1953 thanks to a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, the

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Recipients must be American citizens. Prizes have been aw ...

and a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship. Kay worked for

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 22.4 milli ...

, a music performance rights organization, from 1953 to 1968. In 1968 he was appointed distinguished professor at

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

. After two decades teaching there, he retired. As a composer Kay was known primarily for his symphonic and choral compositions. He also wrote five operas. His final opera, ''

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

'', was mounted in April 1991 at the New Jersey State Opera with Kevin Maynor in the title role and Klara Barlow as

Helen Pitts Douglass Helen Pitts Douglass (1838–1903) was an American suffragist, known for being the second wife of Frederick Douglass. She also created the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, which became the Frederick Douglass National Histo ...

. A resident of

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

, Ulysses Kay died due to complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at the age of 78 at

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center Englewood Hospital is an acute care 294-bed teaching hospital in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. In spring 2024, the medical center received an 'A' Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group patient safety organization. ...

on May 20, 1995.Sullivan, Ronald
"Ulysses Kay, Prolific Composer And Educator, Is Dead at 78"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 23, 1995. Accessed September 21, 2011. "Ulysses Kay, a professor of music and a prolific composer of five operas, 20 large orchestral works and scores of choral, chamber and film compositions, died on Saturday in Englewood Hospital in Englewood, N.J. He was 78 and lived in Teaneck, N.J. The cause was Parkinson's disease, his family said."

Operas

* '' The Juggler of Our Lady'' (composed 1956, premiered 1962) * ''

The Boor ''The Boor'' is an opera in one act composed by Ulysses Kay to a libretto based on Anton Chekhov's comic play, '' The Bear'' (also known as ''The Boor''). Kay wrote the libretto himself basing it on an English translation of the play by the comp ...

'' (composed 1955, premiered 1968) * '' The Capitoline Venus'' (composed 1969, premiered 1971) * ''

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

'' (composed 1974–1976, premiered 1976) * ''

'' (composed 1979–85, premiered 1991)

Sources

*Program notes by Dominique-René de Lerma for the African Heritage Symphonic Series Volume II (Cedille Records CDR 90000 061)

References

External links

Center for Black Music Research
July 20, 1985. Also translated into Japanese an
postedFinding aid to Ulysses Kay papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Ulysses 1917 births 1995 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers African-American opera composers American opera composers Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey Musicians from Tucson, Arizona Columbia University alumni University of Arizona alumni Eastman School of Music alumni Deaths from Parkinson's disease in New Jersey Pupils of Paul Hindemith Pupils of Bernard Rogers American male opera composers Classical musicians from Arizona Tucson High School alumni