Sorrel Hays (August 6, 1941 – February 9, 2020) was an American pianist, composer and artist.

Life

Hays was born Doris Ernestine Hays was born in Memphis,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and in 1985 adopted her grandmother's family name of Sorrel. She studied music with Harold Cadek at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, graduating in 1963. She continued her education for three years studying with

Friedrich Wührer Friedrich Wührer (29 June 1900 – 27 December 1975) was an Austrian-German pianist and piano pedagogue. He was a close associate and advocate of composer Franz Schmidt, whose music he edited and, in the case of the works for left hand alone, revi ...

and

Hedwig Bilgram Hedwig Bilgram (born 31 March 1933) is a German musician and educator. She was born in Memmingen. She studied piano from an early age and went on to study organ with Karl Richter and piano with Friedrich Wührer. In 1959, she won first prize at t ...

at the Hochschule für Musik in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She then studied with Paul Badura-Skoda and

Rudolf Kolisch Rudolf Kolisch (July 20, 1896 – August 1, 1978) was a Viennese violinist and leader of string quartets, including the Kolisch Quartet and the Pro Arte Quartet. Early life and education Kolisch was born in Klamm, Schottwien, Lower Austria and ra ...

at the

University of Wisconsin 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, t ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, graduating with a Master of Music degree. After completing her studies, Hays taught at

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, and then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where she studied with pianist Hilde Somer. In 1971 she won first prize in the Gaudeamus Competition for Interpreters of New Music at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, and began an international career as a pianist. She is now known as one of the world's foremost performers of

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

piano music. In 1998 Hays was director of a graduate program in electronic music at Yildiz University,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. She also taught as a guest lecturer at colleges and universities including Vassar and

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

Works

Hays composed for stage, films, chamber ensemble and electronic performance. Selected works include: *''Our Giraffe'', opera (libretto by Charles Flowers) *''Hands and Lights'' for piano strings with photocell activated switches and flashlights (1972) *''Tunings'' for string quartet *''The Glass Woman'', opera *''Traveling'', based on the microtonal fluctuations of tone generators *''Debushing America'' *''Take A Back Country Road'' electronic saxophone, oboe and DX-7 *''Celebration of NO from Beyond Violence'', electronic tape *''Southern Voices'' for soprano and orchestra She also worked as a film maker, producing films including: *''Disarming the World/Pulling Its Leg'', docudrama *''C.D., The Ritual of Civil Disobedience'', experimental documentary The composition and premiere of her work for soprano and orchestra ''Southern Voices'' is the subject of a documentary directed by George Stoney.

Discography

Hays' music has been recorded and issued on media including: *''Dreaming the World'', New World Records *''Soundbridge'', "90's, A Calendar Bracelet" Opus One 152 *''Tone Over Tone'', "Past Present and Bits" Opus One 135 *''Tellus #17'', "Un-Necessary Music" Video Arts Music *''Voicings for Tape/Soprano/Piano'
Smithsonian Folkways
*''M.O.M. ‘N P.O.P.'' for three pianos, Centaur Records *''Sleepers'', "Hush" Finnadar /Atlantic 90266 *''Adoration of the Clash'', "Sunday Nights" on Finnadar/Atlantic *''Riverrun'', "Celebration of NO" and "Sound Shadows" on Wergo *''Sorrel Doris Hays Plays

Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher and teacher. Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 202 ...

'' on Townhall Records *Live performance from the Cowell festival, Berkeley 1997, on New Albion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Sorrel 1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century classical composers American music educators American women music educators American women classical composers American classical composers People from Memphis, Tennessee Musicians from Tennessee University of Tennessee at Chattanooga alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin alumni Cornell College faculty American women in electronic music 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century women composers American women academics 21st-century American women