The Syracuse University Oratorio Society will remember eminent American
composer, author, violinist, conductor and SU Professor Emeritus Howard
Boatwright with a concert featuring his 1963 work "Canticle of the Sun (The Praises
of the Creatures)" on Sunday, April 26, at 6 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The concert is
free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Irving Garage.
The Oratorio Society performs under the direction of Elisa Dekaney, faculty member
in the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music
in SU's College of Visual
and Performing Arts (VPA). "Canticle of the Sun," a work for mixed chorus, soprano
solo and orchestra, was commissioned by the Spring Choral Festival Association of
New England Secondary Schools. The program will also feature Biebl's "Ave Maria,"
Vivaldi's "Laetatus," Convery's "At Terezen" from the cantata "Songs of Children,"
and Rossini's "I Gondolieri," as well as American traditional songs.
Boatwright, a professor emeritus of composition and theory (1964-88) and former
dean of what is now known as the Setnor School of Music (1964-71), died Feb. 20,
1999, at age 80. He is considered to be a central figure in the modern history of music
at SU. With renowned violinist Louis Krasner and composers Ernst Bacon and Earl
George on the faculty, Boatwright and his wife-celebrated soprano Helen
Boatwright, also a faculty member-ensured that the school earned a reputation as a
champion of contemporary music throughout the 1960s. He opened the school's
electronic music studio, brought renowned visiting composers to campus, and
introduced non-Western music to the school, among other accomplishments.
Boatwright composed more than 90 works and formed his own music publishing
firm, Walnut Grove Press. Among his most important compositions are the 1947
"Dover Beach" for soprano and string quartet and the 1958 "Quartet for Clarinet and
Strings." In addition to composing, Boatwright published five books, including
"Introduction to the Theory of Music" (Norton, 1956) and "Chromaticism: Theory
and Practice" (Syracuse University Press, 1994).
A leading authority on the music and lives of composers Paul Hindemith and Charles
Ives, Boatwright was a student of Hindemith at Yale University, where he earned
bachelor's and master's degrees in music. In 1948, he joined the Yale faculty on
Hindemith's recommendation and taught there until coming to SU.
For more information about the concert, contact the Setnor School at (315) 443-2191.
VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and inspire
audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and commentary. The
college provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in an environment that
thrives on critical thought and action. Learn more at http://vpa.syr.edu.
