Ludmila Ulehla (1923–2009) 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 ...

and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

Biography

Ludmila Ulehla was born in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She began the study of piano and violin very early and wrote short compositions at the age of five. Later she studied composition under

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 ...

at 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 ...

and was awarded a master's degree. Ulehla took a position on the faculty of the same school in 1947, and was Chair of the Composition Department from 1972 to 1989. Ulehla was named Outstanding Educator in Who’s Who of American Women, and has received

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. She wrote a book entitled ''Contemporary Harmony – Romanticism Through the 12-Tone Row'' which was published by Advance Music.

Works

Ulehla's compositions were primarily for solo and chamber ensembles. Selected works include: *''Elegy for a Whale'' *''Gargoyles for Hindell'' *''Michelangelo'' for Orchestra *''Remembrances for Heifetz'' *''Unrolling a Chinese Scroll'' *''Sybil of the American Revolution'', chamber opera, 1993 *''Undersea Fantasy'' for Orchestra, 1999 *''Sonata for Improvisation'' for clarinet, soprano saxophone and piano.

References

1923 births 20th-century classical composers American music educators American women classical composers American classical composers 2009 deaths American opera composers People from Flushing, Queens Manhattan School of Music alumni Manhattan School of Music faculty Women in classical music American women in electronic music Women opera composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers Women music educators 20th-century women composers American women academics 21st-century American women {{US-composer-20thC-stub