Ulysses Kay

1915 - 1995

About

Ulysses Kay (1915-1995)was an African American composer, conductor and professor. Born in Tuscan, Arizona, Kay began playing the piano at six years old with William A. Ferguson, under the encouragement of his uncle and later learned to play the violin. However he became consumed with the saxophone, when he was introduced to the instrument by his step-sister. Kay received a B.M. (1938) from the University of Arizona and an M.M. in composition (1940) from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers. He also studied with Paul Hindermith at the Berkshire Music Center (1941), Yale University (1942), and Otto Luening at Columbia University. In the summer of 1965, he was visiting professor at Boston University, and then at the University of California (1966-1967). He was named Distinguished Professor of Music in 1972 at the Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York where he was initially engaged in 1968, retiring in 1988. In 1975 he was Hubert H. Humphrey Lecturer at Macalester College (St. Paul). He held the Mu Phi Epsilon Endowed Chair at the Brevard Music Center in 1979. Kay has received numerous awards and honors; among them are: the 1965 State Department Cultural Exchange for American Composers to Russian, the Ditson, Rosenwald, and Guggenheim Fellowships, the Prix de Rome (twice), and honorary doctorates. Kay has written extensively, producing approximately 140 musical works. His compositions include: Markings, Of New Horizons, Three Pieces After Blake, Fantasy Variations, Choral Triptych, Umbrian Science, and the operas Jubilee, The Juggler of Our Lady, and Fredrick Douglass.

Related Information

http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/kay.html#15, http://www.darryltaylor.com/alliance/composers/ulysses-simpson-kay

Works by Ulysses Kay