Jean Eichelberger Ivey (July 3, 1923 – May 2, 2010) was an American composer who produced an extensive and diverse catalog of solo,

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, vocal, and orchestral works as an innovator and "respected

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

composer."

Early Life and Education

Born in 1923 to Joseph S. Eichelberger and Mary Elizabeth Pfeiffer, Jean B. Eichelberger Ivey attended high school at the Academy of Notre Dame in Washington, D.C. Though her childhood was impacted by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and her father's loss of his job as editor of the anti-

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

serial ''The Woman Patriot'', Jean Eichelberger won a full-tuition scholarship at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Washington, D.C. where she graduated magna cum laude with her bachelor's degree in 1944. Subsequently, she earned master's degrees in piano performance from

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

and composition from the Eastman School of Music. In the late 1940s and 1950s she taught music theory at Trinity College, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Catholic University of America. In 1964 she began a Doctor of Musical Arts program in composition, including studies in electronic music, at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and completed the degree in 1972. She served as the editor of the American Society of University Composers newsletter from its founding in January 1968 until summer 1970.

Peabody

She founded the Peabody Electronic Music Studio in 1967, and taught

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

at the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and ...

until her retirement. Works composed by Ivey and her students within the studio's first full season were presented at New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, around Peabody, and on radio and television. Most of her electronics works are composed for mixed mediums including acoustic instruments and voice. At the Peabody Conservatory Summer Session, Ivey presented a workshop on electronic music, using her own tape recorders and borrowed equipment, for an audience of school music teachers. She then persuaded the Conservatory to purchase its own equipment and launch the Peabody Electronic Music Studio in 1969, the first such studio at a conservatory. Ivey directed the studio (later renamed the Computer Music Studio) and the computer music composition program at Peabody until her retirement in 1997, earning tenure in 1976 and serving as an adviser to dozens of composers over the years. The

Baltimore Symphony The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

premiered two of her works which combine tape with orchestra, and her music has been recorded on the

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, Folkways and Grenadilla labels. Her publishers include

Boosey and Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

, Carl Fischer, Inc. and E.C. Schirmer.

Achievement

Ivey is listed in the

New Grove Dictionary of Music ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

and

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. She is also the subject of a half-hour documentary film prepared in Washington: ''A Woman Is... a Composer''. Her awards include a

Guggenheim fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

, two fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, annual

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

awards since 1972, the Peabody Director's Recognition Award, and the Peabody Distinguished Alumni Award. On her compositional ideals, Ivey wrote: "I consider all the musical resources of the past and present as being at the composer's disposal, but always in the service of the effective communication of humanistic ideas and intuitive emotion."

Influence

Composing and conducting are two of the last male bastions, though women are steadily making inroads into these fields. Jean Eichelberger Ivey battled this prejudice not only in the field of music but also in academia where women were less likely to be awarded tenure, foundation grants, performance opportunities, and commercial recordings.

Compositions

Chamber Music Androcles and the Lion Dinsmoor Suite Music for Viola and Piano Ode for Violin and Piano Pantomime Scherzo for Wind Septet Six Inventions for Two Violins Sonatina for Unaccompanied Clarinet Song of Pan String Quartet Suite for Cello and Piano Tonado Triton’s Horn Electronic Music (Tape Only): Continuous Form Cortege – For Charles Kent Enter Three Witches Pinball Theater Piece Live Performers Plus Tape: Aldebaran Hera, Hung from the Sky Prospero Sea-Change Skaniadaryo Terminus Testament of Eve Three Songs of Night Music for Theater, Films, and Television: Androcles and the Lion Continuous Form The Exception and the Rule Montage IV: The Garden of Eden Montage V: How to Play Pinball Documentary film on Jean Eichelberger Ivey Orchestra Music: Festive Symphony Forms in Motion Little Symphony Ode for Orchestra Overture for Small Orchestra Passacaglia for Chamber Orchestra Sea-Change Testament of Eve Tribute: Martin Luther King Piano Music (Artist Level): Prelude and Passacaglia Skaniadaryo (Piano and Tape) Sonata for Piano Theme and Variations Piano Music (Teaching Pieces): Magic Circles Modal Melodies (7) Parade (Duet) Pentatonic Sketches (5) Sleepy Time Tiny Twelve-Tone Tunes (5) Water Wheel Vocal and Choral Music: Absent in the Spring Ave Verum, see Lord, Hear My Prayer The Birthmark A Carol of Animals Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Hera, Hung from the Sky Iliad, see Two Songs for High Voice, Flute or Clarinet, and Piano Lord, Hear My Prayer Morning Song Night Voyage, see Two Songs for High Voice, Flute or Clarinet, and Piano Notes Toward Time O Come, Bless the Lord Panis Angelicus, see O Come, Bless the Lord Prospero Solstice Terminus Testament of Eve Three Songs of Night Tribute: Martin Luther King Two Songs for High Voice, Flute or Clarinet, and Piano Woman’s Love

Other

She met and married Fred Ivey, an American living in Germany. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1974.

Work

Pinball (Folkways records FMS 3/3436) Hera, Hung from the Sky combines taped and live performances and inspired by poem by Carolyn Kizer (Composers Recording, Inc. CRI-SD 325, Garden

961 Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...

, Testament of Eve (1974). Her many notable composition students include

Michael Hedges Michael Alden Hedges (December 31, 1953 – December 2, 1997) was an American acoustic guitarist and songwriter. Early years The son of Thayne Alden Hedges and Ruth Evelyn Hedges Ipsen, Michael Hedges was born in Sacramento, California. His l ...

Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez (born 1964 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Latin-American composer and teacher. He currently resides near Rochester, New York. Sanchez-Gutierrez grew up in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara and later studied at the Univers ...

, Geoffrey Dorian Wright, Richard Dudas, McGregor Boyle,

Vivian Adelberg Rudow Vivian Adelberg Rudow (born 1936) is an American composer, performance artist, conducting, conductor and concert producer. She composes in the genres of Acoustic music, acoustic and electroacoustic music with works ranging from solo to full orche ...

, Lynn F. Kowal and Daniel Crozier.

Sources

External links

Interview with Jean Eichelberger Ivey
February 28, 1987 * https://aspace.library.jhu.edu/repositories/4/resources/1490 * https://aspace.library.jhu.edu/repositories/4/resources/1490 * https://aspace.library.jhu.edu/repositories/4/resources/1490 * http://www.bruceduffie.com/ivey.html * http://www.thelizlibrary.org/collections/woa/woa01-07.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivey, Jean Eichelberger 1923 births 2010 deaths American women composers American composers American women in electronic music Musicians from Baltimore 21st-century American women