Role

:

Composer

Birth

:

1928

Death

:

1994

Genre

:

Chamber

 

Betty Jackson King was an American classical music composer who was born on August 13, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of a Baptist minister and a schoolteacher, and she grew up in a musical family. Her mother was a pianist, and her father played the guitar and sang in the church choir. King began playing the piano at the age of four, and she showed a natural talent for music from an early age. King attended the University of Chicago, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1950. She then went on to study composition at the Chicago Musical College, where she earned a Master of Music degree in 1952. While at the Chicago Musical College, King studied with composers such as Alexander Tcherepnin and Leo Sowerby, who had a significant influence on her musical style. King's early compositions were influenced by the neoclassical style of Stravinsky and the serialism of Schoenberg. However, she soon developed her own unique style, which combined elements of jazz, blues, and gospel music with classical forms and techniques. Her music was characterized by its rhythmic vitality, harmonic complexity, and emotional depth. King's first major composition was her Piano Sonata, which she wrote in 1952. The piece was well-received by critics and established King as a promising young composer. She went on to write a number of other works for piano, including her Three Preludes (1953) and her Piano Concerto (1955). In the late 1950s, King began to focus more on vocal music. She wrote a number of choral works, including her Three Spirituals (1958) and her Cantata for Christmas (1960). She also wrote several operas, including her one-act opera The Trial of Mary Lincoln (1963), which was based on the historical trial of Abraham Lincoln's wife. King's most famous work is her Symphony No. 1, which she wrote in 1966. The piece was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and it was premiered by the orchestra under the direction of Jean Martinon. The symphony is a powerful and emotional work that combines elements of jazz, blues, and gospel music with classical forms and techniques. It is considered to be one of the most important works of American classical music from the 1960s. King continued to compose throughout the 1970s and 1980s, writing a number of works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and solo instruments. She also taught composition at several universities, including the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and the University of California, Los Angeles. King's music has been performed by many of the world's leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Her music has also been recorded by several prominent classical music labels, including Naxos and Albany Records. King was a trailblazer for women in classical music, and she was one of the first African American women to achieve national recognition as a composer. She was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and she received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. King died on March 12, 1994, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 65. She left behind a legacy of powerful and emotional music that continues to inspire and move audiences today.

More....