Jackson Hill (born 1941 in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

), is an American composer primarily of symphonic, ensemble, and vocal music.

Biography

Hill was a Morehead Scholar at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

(Ph.D. in

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

in 1970). A composer from the age of 14, he studied composition with Iain Hamilton at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

(1964–66) and Roger Hannay (1967-68). He has served as a visiting scholar and choral assistant at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, and as a visiting fellow at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

University. He studied

Buddhist chant A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to religious recitations of other faiths. Traditional chanting In Buddhism, chanting is the traditional means of preparing the mind for meditation, especially as ...

as a

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the 1970s, and

traditional Japanese music Traditional Japanese music is the folk or traditional music of Japan. Japan's Ministry of Education classifies as a category separate from other traditional forms of music, such as (court music) or (Buddhist chanting), but most ethnomusicolog ...

has been a strong influence in his work. He has received numerous awards and prizes for his music, which includes choral, solo, and chamber music, as well as a chamber opera and three symphonies. Hill’s music has been widely performed in Europe, Asia and the Americas, including performances at the

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 T ...

, Ravinia, Chautauqua, and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

festivals. Recent commissions have come from The

Fitzwilliam String Quartet The Fitzwilliam Quartet (FSQ) is a British string quartet. The group was founded in 1968 by four Cambridge University, Cambridge undergraduates. There have been a number of changes in personnel over the years, but Alan George from the original qu ...

(UK),

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

, Chanticleer, the

King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1 ...

New York Polyphony New York Polyphony is a male classical vocal quartet based in New York City. Music of the Renaissance and Medieval music periods constitutes the core of the ensemble’s repertoire, but increasingly, new music occupies an important place both i ...

, and the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally featu ...

(UK). His composition ''Voices of Autumn'' was part of Chanticleer’s

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination in 2003. He taught at Duke University (1966-1968) and 1968-2008 at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

, where he served as Associate Dean, Presidential Professor, and Chair of the Department of Music.

Compositions

Hill is internationally known for his contribution to the vocal idiom. Principal works include:

Music for orchestra

* Variations for Orchestra (1964) * Mosaics (1965) * Paganini Set (1973) * Ceremonies of Spheres (1973) * Sangraal (1977) * Chambers (1988) * Toccata Nipponica (1989) * Secrets (Himitsu) (1990) * Symphony No. 1 (Sinfonia Nipponica) (1990) * Symphony No. 2 (Sinfonia Canonica) (1996) * Symphony No. 3 (Sinfonia Romantica) (1997)

Ensemble music

* Serenade (1970) flute / violin / cello / piano * Remembered Landscape (1984) violin / viola / cello / piano * Tholos (1991) flute / oboe / clar / violin / cello / piano / percussion * Trio da Camera (1993) flute / oboe / cello * Threnody (2005) horn / string quartet * Ghosts (2010) string quartet

Music for solo voice

* Love Parting (1987) song cycle for voice / piano * The Streams of Love (1989) voice / viola / piano * Long hidden deep in winter's keeping (2001) voice / string quartet * Philomel (2002) voice / recorder / cello / harp * El Duelo ("The Mourning") (2010) tenor / string quartet * The Silent Ground (2010) voice / piano

Church music with English text

* By Water and the Word (1995) SATB / org * The Gifts of the Spirit (1996) SATB / org * Praise, O Praise the Lord (1997) SATB / org * A Song of Pilgrimage (1997) SATB * How Shall the Young (2000) SATB / org * The St. Chad Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Lichfield Service) (2003) * Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life (2010) SATB / org

Church music with Latin text

* O Salutaris (1973) * Tantum Ergo (1974) Peters Edition * Missa Brevis (1974) SATB, Peters Edition * Three Motets (1977) SATB Peters edition * Hodie Christus Natus Est (1982) SATB * Sacris sollemniis (1992) SATB * Populus Sion, ecce Dominus (1994) SATB

Choral concert music

* Voices of Autumn (1982) SATB * O Light Invisible (1994) SATB * In Winter's Keeping (2001) * Remembered Love (2004) AATBBB * When spring is born at last (2004) SATB * Summer Dreams (2006) SSAATTBB * A Haunted Melancholy (2008) SSAATBB * Ma fin est mon commencement (2009) ATBB * Still, in Remembrance (Elegy for 9/11) (2011) SSAATTBB * To Hold the Light (2013) SSAATTBB * No Traveler More Blest (2014) SATB * Wings of Thy Dark Soul (2014) SATB

References

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Second Edition, 2000), American Music Center (New York), S.A.I. Composers Bureau Online, The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, International Who's Who in Music and Musicians Directory, ASCAP Symphonic Catalogue, Who's Who in Entertainment, International Who's Who in Classical Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Jackson 1941 births Living people 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians American male composers Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama Duke University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni