Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (June 14, 1932, Manhattan, New York City or possibly (unconfirmed)

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

– March 9, 2004,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

whose interests spanned the worlds of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, pop,

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Professionally he was often known as "Coleridge Perkinson". Perkinson was

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and was named after the black British composer

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race birth, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when ...

(1875–1912). Perkinson's mother was active in music and the arts as a piano teacher, church organist, and director of a theater company.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene
"African Heritage Symphonic Series Vol. III"
Liner note essay.

Cedille Records Cedille Records () is the independent record label of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. History In 1989, James Steven Ginsburg, James Ginsburg, the son of Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice of th ...

CDR066. Perkinson attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He later transferred to the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, where he studied composition with

Vittorio Giannini Vittorio Giannini (October 19, 1903 – November 28, 1966) was an American neoromantic composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works. Life and work Giannini was born in Philadelphia on October 19, 1903. He began as a violinist under the t ...

and Charles Mills. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from the

. He also studied with

Earl Kim Earl Kim (1920–1998; née Eul Kim) was an American composer, and music pedagogue. He was of Korean–descent. Early life, education, and training Kim was born on January 6, 1920 in Dinuba, California, to immigrant Korean parents. He began p ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. He was on the faculty of

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

(1959–1962) and studied conducting in the summers of 1960, 1962, and 1963 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with

Franco Ferrara Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti. Life and ...

and

Dean Dixon Charles Dean Dixon (January 10, 1915November 3, 1976) was an American conductor. Career Dixon was born in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem in New York City to parents who had earlier migrated from the Caribbean. He studied conducting ...

and also learned conducting in 1960 at the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. Perkinson co-founded the Symphony of the New World in New York in 1965 and later became its music director. He was also music director of

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

's American Theater Lab and the

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cente ...

American Dance Theater. Perkinson composed a ballet for Ailey titled ''For Bird, With Love'', inspired by the music of

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. Perkinson wrote a great deal of classical music, but was equally well-versed in jazz and popular music. He served briefly as

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

for drummer

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

’s quartet and wrote arrangements for Roach,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, and

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

. He also composed music for films such as ''

The McMasters ''The McMasters'' is a 1970 American Western film directed by Alf Kjellin and starring Burl Ives, Brock Peters, David Carradine and Nancy Kwan. Producer Monroe Sachson had made ''The Incident'' with Brock Peters and the two were looking aroun ...

'' (1970), ''

Together for Days ''Together for Days'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation independent film directed by Michael Schultz, and starring Clifton Davis and Lois Chiles. It follows a relationship between an African-American man and a Caucasian woman, and the reaction ...

'' (1972), ''

A Warm December ''A Warm December'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sidney Poitier and starring him in the lead role as Dr. Matt Younger. It also stars Jamaican actress Esther Anderson as Catherine, Matt's love interest. Anderson's performanc ...

'' (1973), ''

Thomasine & Bushrod ''Thomasine & Bushrod'' is a 1974 Western film directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., written by and starring Max Julien and Vonetta McGee and was released by Columbia Pictures. The title song was written by Arthur Lee and performed by his band Love. ...

'' (1974), ''

The Education of Sonny Carson ''The Education of Sonny Carson'' is a 1974 American blaxploitation drama film based on the best-selling autobiography of Sonny Carson. The film was directed by ''The Mack'' director Michael Campus, and starring Rony Clanton, Don Gordon, Joy ...

'' (1974), ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

'' (1974), ''

Mean Johnny Barrows ''Mean Johnny Barrows'' is a 1976 American crime drama film starring Fred Williamson, who also directed the film; Stuart Whitman; Luther Adler; Jenny Sherman; and Roddy McDowall also star. Plot Johnny Barrows (played by Fred "The Hammer" Wil ...

'' (1976), and the documentary '' Montgomery to Memphis'' (1970) about

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

In 1970 he wrote incidental music for at least one episode of the US television show ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...

''. Perkinson's music has a blend of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

; American

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

; elements of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, spirituals, and black

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

; and rhythmic ingenuity.

Orchestral works

*Grass: Poem for Piano, Strings and Percussion (1973) *Mop/Mop: A Symphonic Sketch (1998) *Sinfonietta No. 1 for Strings (1953) *Sinfonietta No. 2 for Strings: Generations (1996) *Worship: A Concert Overture (2001)

Choral works

*Fredome/ Freedom for SATB Chorus and Piano (1970) *Fredome/ Freedom for SATB Chorus, Two Pianos, Double Bass and Percussion (1970) *Psalm Twenty-Three (2003)

Solo and instrumental works

*60/60 for Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet and Piano (1996) *Blue/s Forms for solo violin (1979) *Finale for solo clarinet (unspec.) *Lament for viola and piano (1950s) *Lamentations Black/Folk Song Suite for solo cello (1973) *Lil' Lite O' Mine/ Sparklin' for Flute and Piano (2000) *Louisiana Blues Strut: A Cakewalk for violin (2002) *Movement for String Trio (2004) *Scherzo for solo piano (1973) *Sonata a' la Baroque for solo flute (1994) *Sonata for Flute & Piano (2003) *String Quartet No. 1 "Calvary" (1956) *Toccata for solo piano (1953) *Walkin' All Over God's City Called Heaven for violin and cello (1996)

References

* Program notes by Gregory Weinstein for "Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932–2004): A CELEBRATION" (Cedille Records CDR 90000 087) * Martin, Douglas "Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Versatile Musician, Dies at 71
''New York Times'' (March 13, 2004)

External links

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson papers
the composer's personal papers in th
Music Division
o

Obituary
from the New York Public Library *http://www.wnyc.org/story/no-boundaries-music-life-coleridge-taylor-perkinson-wnyc/ * http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Perkinson.html
Composer page on publisher's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkinson, Coleridge-Taylor 1932 births 2004 deaths 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American film score composers American male conductors (music) African-American jazz composers African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers African-American film score composers The High School of Music & Art alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni People from Manhattan Musicians from New York City 20th-century American composers Jazz musicians from New York (state) Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American conductors (music) American male film score composers American male jazz composers American jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians Brooklyn College faculty 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people