Dr. Harry Begian (1921-2010) was an American band director, composer and arranger. Begian taught at both the secondary and collegiate level during his career.

Early life

Begian was born in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

immigrants on April 24, 1921. The influence of his Armenian heritage was the motivating factor in his commissioning

Alfred Reed Alfred Reed (January 25, 1921 – September 17, 2005) was an American neoclassical composer, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a ...

to compose his work for band entitled "

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" parts 1 and 2 and subsequently "Praise Jerusalem." Begian was a frequent contributor to such band publications as '' The Instrumentalist''.

Career

Secondary education

At the secondary level, just after studying at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

(the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), Begian began his tenure as band director at

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Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

, 1947 through 1964.Wallace, Carroll, The Life and Work of Harry Begian, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994 At Cass Tech, Begian honed his skills as a band director before advancing to the University level after completing his doctorate.Teweleit, Russel D., Dr. Gary Garner, University of Oklahoma Press, 2006, p. 27 He pursued a doctorate and college career at the urging of his mentor at Cass Tech, Larry Teal of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Begian also later recounted that Teal had offered to help pay for his degree. Other influences at this time that Begian credited with shaping his approach to music were William D. Revelli, who showed him that "a band could be a refined musical instrument," Leonard Falcone, whose solo playing taught him what musical expression is, and his trumpet teacher, Leonard Smith, principal chair at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, who taught him the importance of accuracy and dynamic control.Crider, Paul, The Conductor’s Legacy, GIA Publications, Chicago, IL., 2010, P.23 During Begian's tenure at Cass Tech, the program developed a reputation for excellence and was invited to perform at venues such as the prestigious Mid-West Band Clinic in 1954. The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

created a permanent Harry Begian Collection that now houses 26 recordings of Begian's respected Cass Technical High School bands.Levin, Senator Carl, Tribute to Harry Begian, Congressional Record, Volumes 109-122, page 14204 (Senate, June 10, 2003)

Collegiate

Following Begian's tenure at Cass Tech, he earned an EdD (Doctor of Education) degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1964 (Proquest Dissertations & Theses), and started his college teaching career. Begian served three years as Director of Bands at his

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, 1964–1967. In 1967, Begian was hired to succeed Leonard Falcone as Director of Bands at Michigan State University. Begian directed the Spartan Marching Band alongside assistant director Bill Moffit from 1967 through 1969 and left a large impact on the SMB during his three years in the position. In 1969, Begian left MSU to begin his fourteen-year tenure as only the third person to hold the position Director of Bands at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, a position that he entered in 1970. Begian retired from the University of Illinois in 1984. In 1985, he was lured out of retirement to become the director of the Purdue University Symphonic Band from 1985 to 1987. Then director of bands at Purdue J Richard Dunscomb stated, "We think he's going to bring the same kind of excitement to the concert band that Bill Moffit is bringing to the marching band program" about recruiting the "internationally known conductor." After officially retiring, Dr. Begian returned to the world-famous Interlochen Center For The Arts where he had previously served as a faculty member, 1961–1964 and in 1973. Jeffrey S. Kimpton, Interlochen's seventh President, performed in Dr. Begian's University of Illinois Large Symphonic Band (the premiere performing band at the time) as a cornetist during the early 70's. During Begian's tenure at the University of Illinois, he continued the LP recording project established by his predecessor, Mark Hindsley. After his retirement from the University of Illinois, many of the recording of the Symphonic Band under Begian's baton were re-distributed as a set of 20 CDs which are now included in the Begian Collection of the Library of Congress. Begian was especially known for his recordings of the works by

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

, as well as his interpretation of the

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

s of Richard Strauss.

Professional recognition

Begian was the recipient of numerous awards, including induction into National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors on February 5, 1994, The Edwin Franko Goldman Award, and the Notre Dame St. Cecelia Award. Begian was a charter member of the American School Band Director's Association, the Goldman award being their highest honor. He had the unusual honor of being asked to conduct a performance of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall in 1987. Shorty thereafter in 1989, he was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic's Medal of Honor. (16) In 2003, Begian was honored in a tribute to his professional accomplishments including 50 years as a nationally and internationally known music educator, having conducted over 65 performances now housed in the Library of Congress, and for his many contributions to music education by the U.S. Senate. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) read the tribute on the Senate floor immediately prior to the presiding officer of the Senate reading a Presidential report on the "emergency" of fissionable nuclear material proliferation in the

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Personal life

Begian died July 26, 2010 at the age of 89. The

Sousa Archives and Center for American Music The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music (SACAM) documents American music through historical artifacts and archival records in multiple formats. The center is part of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign's library system an ...

houses the Harry Begian Papers, which consists of correspondence, scrapbooks, research materials and personal arrangements that document Begian's career as a band conductor and teacher.

References

16. https://www.midwestclinic.org/Remembering-Harry-Begian.html

Linked external sources

Obituary from news-gazette

Obituary from Mid West Band Clinic

Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Harry Begian Biography from GIA PublicationsHarry Begian Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Begian, Harry 2010 deaths 1921 births American music educators American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) University and college band directors Distinguished Service to Music Medal recipients University of Michigan alumni Purdue University people Wayne State University faculty Michigan State University faculty University of Illinois faculty