SU Oratorio Society to remember eminent composer, educator Boatwright with ‘Canticle of the Sun’ performance April 26

SU Oratorio Society to remember eminent composer, educator Boatwright with ‘Canticle of the Sun’ performance April 26April 10, 2009Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

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.