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