Role

:

Composer Performer

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

August 4, 1910 in New York City, NY

Death

:

February 15, 1992 in New York City, NY

Period

:

Contemporary

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Choral

 

 

Opera

 

 

Orchestral

 

 

Symphony

 

William Schuman was an American composer and educator who was born on August 4, 1910, in New York City. He was the youngest of three children born to Samuel and Rachel Schuman, both of whom were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Schuman's father was a businessman who owned a wholesale grocery store, and his mother was a homemaker. Schuman showed an early interest in music and began taking piano lessons at the age of eight. He also played the violin and the trumpet and was a member of his high school band. After graduating from high school, Schuman attended New York University, where he studied composition with Roy Harris and Percy Grainger. In 1935, Schuman won a scholarship to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with the composer Rosario Scalero. While at Curtis, Schuman wrote his first major work, the Symphony No. 1, which was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1935. After graduating from Curtis in 1937, Schuman worked as a freelance composer and arranger in New York City. He also taught at Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School. In 1945, Schuman was appointed the president of the Juilliard School, a position he held until 1961. During his tenure at Juilliard, Schuman worked to expand the school's curriculum and to increase its enrollment. He also established the Juilliard String Quartet and the Juilliard Choral Union. In addition, Schuman was a strong advocate for contemporary music and commissioned works from many of the leading composers of the day. Schuman's own music was characterized by its rhythmic vitality, its use of dissonance, and its incorporation of American folk and popular music. His most famous works include the Symphony No. 3, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1943, and the Symphony No. 9, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic in 1968. Other notable works by Schuman include the New England Triptych, which is based on hymn tunes by William Billings, and the American Festival Overture, which incorporates the melodies of several patriotic songs. Schuman also wrote several works for the stage, including the ballets Undertow and Night Journey, and the opera The Mighty Casey. In addition to his work as a composer and educator, Schuman was also a champion of the arts in America. He served as the president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts from 1962 to 1969 and was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1969 to 1972. Schuman died on February 15, 1992, in New York City. He was survived by his wife, Frances, and their two children. Today, Schuman is remembered as one of the leading American composers of the 20th century, whose music reflects the vitality and diversity of American culture.

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