Joseph Willard Roosevelt (January 16, 1918 – May 18, 2008) was an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

Biography

He was the second son of

Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Roosevelt MC (October 10, 1889 – June 4, 1943) was an American businessman, soldier, explorer, and writer. A son of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, Kermit graduated from Harvard College, served in both Wo ...

and Belle Wyatt Willard. His paternal grandparents were

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Theodore "T.R." Roosevelt, Jr. and First Lady Edith Kermit Carow. Roosevelt attended, like several of his family members,

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and studied piano with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in France. He served in the Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was commissioned in the Naval Reserve on August 19, 1940 and was promoted to lieutenant on March 1, 1943. Later in the war, he served as captain of the USS ''Greene'', (APD-36). With the ''Greene'' he supported the invasion of southern France in August 1944 and later served on escort duties in the Pacific. Joseph was first married to Nancy Thayer, daughter of

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

and Elaine Orr. He taught music at

The Hartt School The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

and the

Longy School of Music Longy School of Music of Bard College is a private music school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915 as the Longy School of Music, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New E ...

. Roosevelt's compositions are published by the

American Composers Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and oth ...

and Merion Music. Roosevelt died at the age of 90 on May 18, 2008.

Personal life

Roosevelt was named for his grandfather, Virginia Lieutenant Governor and United States Ambassador to Spain

Joseph Edward Willard Joseph Edward Willard (May 1, 1865 – April 4, 1924) was an American politician, philanthropist, and diplomat. Early life The son of prominent Washington hotelier and Union Army commissary major Joseph Clapp Willard (1820–1897) and former C ...

. His brother is

Kermit Roosevelt Jr. Kermit Roosevelt Jr. (February 16, 1916 – June 8, 2000) was an American intelligence officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services during and following World War II. A grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United S ...

; his nephew is

Mark Roosevelt Mark Roosevelt (born December 10, 1955) is an American academic administrator and politician serving as the seventh president of the Santa Fe campus of St. John's College. He was the President of Antioch College from January 2011 to December 2 ...

; his great-nephews are

Kermit Roosevelt III Kermit Roosevelt III (born July 14, 1971) is an American author, lawyer, and legal scholar. He is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a great-great-grandson of United States President Theodore Roosevelt and a distant cous ...

John Palfrey John Gorham Palfrey VII (born 1972) is an American educator, scholar, and law professor. He is an authority on the legal aspects of emerging media and an advocate for Internet freedom, including increased online transparency and accountability ...

and

Quentin Palfrey Quentin Palfrey (born April 29, 1974) is an American lawyer, policymaker, and political candidate. He currently serves as Deputy General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce. He previously served as the Executive Director of the ...

. Roosevelt married first Nancy Cummings, who at the time was known as Nancy Thayer due to her unknowingness regarding her father (she believed it was poet

Scofield Thayer Scofield Thayer (12 December 1889 in Worcester, Massachusetts – 9 July 1982 in Edgartown) was a wealthy American poet and publisher, best known for his art collection, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and as a publisher and editor of the l ...

due to what her mother told her; it was actually poet

E.E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

) on December 22, 1943 in New York City. They had at least two children: # Simon Willard Roosevelt (1945-1965), who died in a motorcycle accident at age 19; he married Ann Whitney Alexander on January 2, 1964, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and they had a son, Simon Cummings Roosevelt a few months later. # Elizabeth Francoise Roosevelt (b. 1947), who married Derek C. Aldred in January 1966 in Hammersmith, England. Roosevelt and Cummings would divorce, and Roosevelt married secondly Carol Adele Russell on May 28, 1955 in Mendon, Vermont. They had three children: # Dirck Roosevelt (b. 1955) # Caleb Willard Roosevelt (1963-1982), who died in a car accident in Pittsfield, Mass. # David Russell Roosevelt (1965-1986), who died after flipping his father's truck near Sandisfield, Mass.

Selected works

;Opera * ''And the Walls Came Tumbling Down'' (1976); 1 act with libretto by

Loften Mitchell James Loften Mitchell (April 15, 1919 – May 14, 2001) was an American playwright and theatre historian who was part of the black American theatre movement of the 1960s. Life and career Mitchell was born in Columbus, North Carolina, to an Af ...

;Orchestra / band * ''Amistad'' for orchestra (1960) * ''Band Piece No. 1'' (1979) * ''Band Piece No. 2'' (1979) * Concerto for cello and orchestra (1963) * Concerto for piano and orchestra * Suite for oboe, bassoon and string orchestra (1959) ;Chamber / instrumental * ''Flute and Fiddle'', 4 Duos for 5 flutes (bass, alto, standard, shakuhachi, piccolo) and 2 fiddles (violin, viola) (1975) * ''The Judgement of Paris'' for flute (also alto flute) and optional mime (1975) * ''Lament for Willie Thomas Jones'' for 4 cellos (1975) * ''The Leaden and the Golden Echo'' for reciter and piano (1957); text by

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...

* ''Paul Revere's Ride'' for flute solo and optional mime (1975) * Serenade for oboe, viola and cello (1955) * ''Short Suite'' for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1982) * Sonata for cello and piano (1953) * Sonata for violin and piano * ''Song and Dance Suite'' for oboe, clarinet and viola (1975) * String Quartet * Suite for viola solo (1963) * Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (1952) * ''Waltz'' for flute (or clarinet) and piano (1978) ;Piano * ''Dance Suite'' (1982) * Sonata No. 1 in D major * Sonata No. 2 in B major * Suite (1963) ;Vocal * ''An American Sampler'', 4 Songs for soprano, horn and piano (1976); words by

Phyllis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates, Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: Ameri ...

Edward Coote Pinkney Edward Coote Pinkney (October 1, 1802 – April 11, 1828) was an American poet, lawyer, sailor, professor, and editor. Born in London in 1802 when his William Pinkney, father was serving as ambassador to the Court of St. James, Pinkney return ...

Philip Freneau Philip Morin Freneau (January 2, 1752 – December 18, 1832) was an American poet, nationalist, polemicist, sea captain and early American newspaper editor, sometimes called the "Poet of the American Revolution". Through his newspaper, th ...

, Charles F. Hoffman * ''Aria'' (Oh, Joshua) for voice and piano (1970); words by Loften Mitchell * ''Four Songs'' for soprano and clarinet (1975); words by Lloyd Frankenberg and

* ''Five Songs'' for soprano and viola (1975); words by Lloyd Frankenberg and

* ''Five Songs from Caleb'' for voice and piano (1990); words by Caleb Roosevelt * ''May Song It Flourish'' for Soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone and chamber orchestra (1960); words by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

* ''Three Songs'' for baritone and piano (1991); words by

* ''Three Songs from Poe'' for soprano, clarinet and piano (1977); words by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

* ''Two Songs'' for voice and piano (1967); words by

* ''Two Songs'' for voice and piano (1973); words by Lloyd Frankenberg * ''War Is Kind'' (Our Dead Brother Bid Us Think of Life) for soprano, narrator, dancer and chamber orchestra (1976); words by

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

and

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...

References

External links

New York Times obituary

Williard Roosevelt at the American Composers Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Joseph Willard 1918 births 2008 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists American people of Dutch descent Groton School alumni Harvard University alumni Longy School of Music of Bard College faculty American opera composers Male opera composers

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

Schuyler family University of Hartford Hartt School faculty The New School faculty Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians