Kay, Ulysses
Period: Early 20th Century
Born: Sunday, January 7, 1917 in Tucson, Arizona (USA)
Died: Saturday, May 20, 1995 in Englewood, New Jersey (USA)
Nation of Origin: United States
Major Works:
Five Mosaics (1940)
New Horizons (1944)
Suite for Orchestra (1945)
A Short Overture (1947)
The Quiet One (1948)
Serenade for Orchestra (1954)
Markings (1964)
Choral Triptych (1962)
Forever Free (1962)
Herald (1968)
Chariots (1978)
Five Winds (1985)
Other Information:
ULYSSES KAY: THE MAN AND HIS MUSICAL CRAFT: 1917-1995
by
Dr. Paxton M. Girtmon
Grambling State University
Ulysses Kay was born on January 7, 1917, Tucson, AZ, to Ulysses
Simpson Kay Sr. and Elizabeth Kay and died in Englewood, N.J., May
20, 1995. Ulysses Kay came from a musical family where everyone in
his family played an instrument. His uncle, Joseph "King Oliver"
was a renowned trumpet player and mentor to Louis Armstrong. At the
tender age of five, Ulysses Kay studied piano privately in Tucson.
While in elementary school, he played the violin, as well as the
alto saxophone, but continued to grow and study on the piano.
After graduation, Kay enrolled in liberal arts at the University
of Arizona, but later changed his major to public school music.
During this time, Kay developed an interest in composing and also
met William Grant Still, who provided the young composer with much
needed encouragement and determination to continue composing.
In 1938, Kay received his undergraduate degree in public school
music, but he continued to improve his skills in composition.
Kay was awarded a scholarship to study composition at the Eastman
School of Music. While attending Eastman, Kay wrote his first
composition: A Set of Ten Piano Pieces for Children (1939)
and Sinfonetta for Orchestra (1939). In 1940, Kay won first
prize in a competition hosted by Phi Mu Alpha with the composition
Five Mosaics (1940). In the same year, Kay earned a Master
of Arts degree in composition, and continued his studies with Paul
Hindemith at Tanglewood and Yale in 1941, and Otto Luening at
Columbia. From 1942-46, Kay performed in the Navy band at Quonset
Point, RI, where he played saxophone, piano, flute, and piccolo.
Here Kay composed the following compositions: Come Away, Come
Away Death (1944) and Evocations for Concert Band (1944)
and New Horizons (1944), which received the American
Broadcasting Prize.
The years of 1945-52 were some of Kay’s most productive. Kay
was awarded a prize from Broadcast Music, Inc., for his composition
Suite for Orchestra (1945) and the Gershwin Memorial for
A Short Overture (1947). It was during his time he also
received the Ditson and Julius Rosenwald Fellowships, the Priz de
Rome, and a Fulbright Award, which allowed him to travel to Italy
during the years of 1949-1952. It was during this time some of his
most notable film and television compositions were written, for
example The Quiet One (1948).
After returning from Italy in 1952, Kay accepted a post as adviser
and then consultant with Broadcast Music, Inc., where he stayed
until 1968. In 1954 Kay wrote his second orchestral composition,
Serenade for Orchestra (1954), which was commissioned and
premiered by the Louisville Symphony. In 1958, Ulysses Kay, Roger
Sessions, Roy Harris, and Peter Mennin were apart of a cultural
exchange program that visited the Soviet Union. Kay composed
numerous choral compositions from 1958-1960 as a result of his
visit to Russia. They include the following: Hymn Anthem on the
Tune "Hanover" (1959), The Epicure (1959), and
Phoebus Arise (1959).
In 1961, Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961) lost his life while
attempting to establish peace in South Africa. After learning of
this tragedy, Kay wanted to offer a musical tribute to the fallen
Civil Rights leader. When commissioned by the Meadow Brook Music
Festival for a composition, and having the resources of the Detroit
Symphony at hand, Kay composed Markings (1964), a five
section-symphonic essay in the honor of Dag Hammarskjold and
dedicated to Oliver Daniel.
Choral Triptych (1962) was written as a result of a Ford
Foundation Grant. Kay’s band composition, Forever Free
(1962), which was premiered by the U.S. Marine Band is considered
was one of his best works for band. Kay was appointed Professor of
Music at Lehman College in 1968. At this time he composed mainly
for instrumental mediums. Herald (1968), for brass octet.
Other important compositions are Chariots (1978), and
Five Winds (1985). At the time of his death in May 20, 1995,
Kay was at work on a composition for the New Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Wind Band Compositions:
Concert Sketches. Contents: Prologue; Parade; Promenade;
Carnival; Holiday; Epilogue. 1965. Note: written for the Ostwald
Band Composition Award (semi-finalist).
Evocation. 1944.
Forever Free: A Lincoln Portrait. 1962. Note: Commissioned
by Broadcast Music Inc.,
Four Silhouettes. 1972.
Prologue and Parade. 1977.
Short Suite. Contents: Fanfare; March; Interlude; Lyric;
Finale. 1950.
Solemn Prelude. Commissioned by the Baylor University Band.
1949.
Trigon-Wind Orchestra. Contents: Prelude; Canticle; Toccata.
Commissioned by the American Wind Symphony. 1961.
Essay contributed by:
Paxton Girtmon
Composer Bibliography:
Anderson, Ruth E. Contemporary American Composers, a
biographical dictionary. Boston: G.K.Hall, 1982.
Cody, Carlos. A Study of Selected Band Compositions of Three
Twentieth-Century Composers: William Grant Still, Ulysses Kay, and
Hale Smith. Ph.D. diss., University of Southern Mississippi,
1990.
Everett, Thomas. "Concert Band Music By Black American Composers,"
The Black Perspective in Music 6, no.2, (Fall 1978):
143-150.
Southern, Eileen. Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and
African Musicians. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press,
1982.
General Bibliography:
Slonimsky, Nicolas, Music Since 1900, Schirmer Books, July 1994, ISBN: 0028724186
Salzman, Eric, Twentieth Century Music: An Introduction, Pearson, October 2001, ISBN: 0130959413
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group, December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc., January 2004, ISBN: 0195170679
Rutherford-Johnson, Tim, Kennedy, Michael, and Kennedy, Joyce The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 6th Edition, 2012, ISBN: 0199578109
Links to essays at other sites:
Please note: Each link will open in a new window.
Biographical essay from Wikipedia
Biography at africanpubs.com
Brief biography at Art Song Alliance
Home page of Dr. Girtmon
