Clifford O. Taylor (20 October 1923 in

Avalon, Pennsylvania Avalon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River, downstream from Pittsburgh. The population was 4,762 at the 2020 census. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History On De ...

– 19 September 1987 in

Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is adjacent to Philadelphia's northern fringe. The population was 55,310 as of the 2010 census, making it the second most populous township in Montgomery County after Lower ...

) was an American composer and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. He studied with

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...

and

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

and served as chairman of the department of music composition at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

for 23 years. Among his compositions are three symphonies, ''The Freak Show'' (a 1975 one-act opera), several

string quartets The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

and numerous

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

sonatas Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''canta ...

. In December 1971 the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

played the world premiere of his ''Symphony No. 2''. He was married for many years to Louise Kemp, living with her in

Jenkintown, PA Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Center City Philadelphia. History The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. Jenkintown is located just ...

until his death at Abington Memorial Hospital in 1987. They had three sons, Christopher, Andrew and Jonathan Taylor.New York Times September 25, 1987
/ref> His major works seemed to belonged to a school of thought among 20th century American composers, such as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, that was intent on writing music exhibiting strictly American styles, properties, and innovations. In fact, the sound of Clifford Taylor's music might indeed be mistaken for some by Copland, and it seems to have used similar compositional processes.

References

1923 births 1987 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers American opera composers Temple University faculty 20th-century classical composers American music educators 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub