Patrick Peter Sacco (October 23, 1928,
Albion, New York – August 12, 2000,
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 ...
) was an American composer and singer.
Sacco, under the tutelage of family members, was a traveling musician as a child, playing piano and performing as a
soprano vocalist. He studied at
Eastman Preparatory School 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 opposing ...
, then received a bachelor's degree at
SUNY-Fredonia in 1950. He then entered the military and studied while in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
under
Wolfgang Niederste-Schee; he also performed on piano and organ and played clarinet as a member of the
4th Infantry Division band.
After military service, he returned to Eastman, where he obtained both master's and doctoral degrees and studied under
Wayne Barlow,
Howard Hanson
Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American class ...
, and
Bernard Rogers. In 1959, he joined the faculty at
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
, remaining there until 1980; in 1970-71 he was visiting lecturer at the
University of Hawaii
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, th ...
.
Sacco performed as a tenor for many years and composed at least 200 works.
References
*Michael Meckna, "Peter Sacco". ''
The Grove Dictionary of American Music'', 2nd edition. (rev. May 25, 2016, Oxford Music Online)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacco, Peter
20th-century American composers
Singers from New York (state)
1928 births
2000 deaths
State University of New York at Fredonia alumni
20th-century American singers
American male composers
20th-century American male singers