Thomas Tyra (born Thomas Norman Tyrakowski) (April 17, 1933 – July 7, 1995) 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 ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...

, 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 ...

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

, Tyra was the only child of first-generation

Polish-American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...

parents who were employed by

Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

's nearby

Hawthorne Works The Hawthorne Works was a large factory complex of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. Named after the original name of the town, Hawthorne, it opened in 1905 and operated until 1983. At its peak of operations, Hawthorne employed 4 ...

. He graduated from Morton High School in Cicero (Diploma 1951),

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

(BSM 1954, GBSM 1955, Music Education/Composition) and the United States Navy School of Music (1956) where he would refine his composition and arranging skills while fulfilling his military service obligations. In 1971, Tyra earned his

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in Music Education from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

under the auspices of

Allen Britton Allen Perdue Britton (May 25, 1914 – February 17, 2003) was an American music educator. Through his many passions in life he contributed to elevating the field of music education to the same stature as the field of musicology. He developed ...

, Emil Holz, and long-time

Director of Bands A Director of Bands is the head figure of a marching or concert form of bands, a person who leads a musical ensemble. The Director, by history and tradition, must know all the concepts of music and must be able to teach all different kinds of instr ...

William Revelli William D. Revelli (February 12, 1902 – July 16, 1994) was an American music educator and conductor best known for his association with the University of Michigan, where he directed the university's bands including the Michigan Marching Ba ...

Bandmaster, music educator and mentor

Following graduation from Northwestern in 1955, Tyra began his career as a high school band director in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. The following year, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was ordered to Washington, DC, where he fulfilled his military service obligations as a staff arranger and rehearsal conductor at the Navy School of Music. Upon his honorable discharge in late 1957 - followed by a brief teaching assignment at

Morton College Morton College is a public community college in Cicero, Illinois. It is the second oldest community college in the state. While the campus itself was constructed in 1975, the college was established in 1924. Before the construction of the campus, ...

in his hometown of Cicero - Tyra joined the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

faculty in the Fall of 1958, serving as an assistant to the

L. Bruce Jones. In 1959, LSU elevated Tyra to the position of 14th Bandmaster of the Tiger Marching Band, making him - at age 26 - the nation's youngest director of a major university marching band. That same year Tyra created the ''LSU Ballet Corps'' dance line, launching what would in 1965, become the LSU Golden Girls. Satisfying the constant demand for new musical content on the LSU gridiron was a small cadre of aspiring student composers and arrangers which included

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (and four of its sequels), ''The Karate Kid'' (and all of its sequels), '' For Your Eyes Only'', ''Dynasty'' (and its ...

. Conti would later gain fame by penning ''

Gonna Fly Now "Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from ''Rocky''", is the theme song from the movie ''Rocky'', composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with ''Rocky ...

'', the theme song popularized by the 1976 hit film ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...

''. During his tenure, Tyra introduced '' Hey, Fightin' Tigers'', an adaptation of '' Hey, Look Me Over'' from the 1960 musical '' Wildcat!'' by

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

and

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come". With ...

. This team spirit song - later adopted by the LSU Golden Girls as their introductory theme - continues to be used at LSU athletic events today. In 1964, Tyra was appointed Director of Bands at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. In 1968, a young Max Plank joined the EMU Bands Program as Tyra's assistant. Together they forged a lifelong collaboration and friendship that would result in significant growth of the EMU's band program and its traditions. In 2002, Plank passed the leadership mantle to Scott Boerma, ending an era that spanned over 38 years of EMU Band history. After leaving EMU in 1977 and until 1985, Tyra headed th
Department of Music
at

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

Cullowhee, North Carolina Cullowhee
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

, strengthening its Music Education curriculum and planting the seeds of growth for its instrumental performance programs, including marching band. From 1985 until his retirement in 1989, he served as Professor and Dean of the

Crane School of Music The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Crane consists of approximately 630 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a faculty o ...

at SUNY-Potsdam. He also held appointments as Director of the Ann Arbor Civic Band (late 1960s to 1977) and guest Clinician at the Ontario Youth Music Camp in

Beaverton, Ontario Beaverton is a community in Brock Township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. History Beaverton was first settled in 1822. The settlement is located on Lake Simcoe at the mouth of the Beaver River. It was called Calder's M ...

, Canada (1970–73). Tyra was a member of the Iota Chapter of

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

at Northwestern University, the

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...

Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority, (, colloquially referred to as TBSigma or TBS) is a co-educational service sorority. The sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Santa Fe Depot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,800 active ...

band service organization and served as ΚΚΨ's National President from 1973 to 1975. He was also a member of

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 ...

and the

American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City, ...

Composer, arranger and lyricist

Tyra wrote numerous original compositions, arrangements, and lyrics for works performed by wind ensembles, marching bands, military bands, and brass ensembles of all levels. For beginning bands, Tyra wrote a series of compositions that he (whimsically) titled ''Wholey Hymn'', ''Modal March'', ''Pentatonic Polka'', ''Quartal Caper'', and ''Polytonal Parade''. Compositions and arrangements for intermediate bands include ''Two 17th Century Italian Songs'' and arrangements of Handel's '' The Messiah (Part I)'' and "I'd Do Anything" from the

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical '' Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

musical ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

.'' His ''Two Gaelic Folk Songs'' (1964) - an arrangement of the two Irish patriotic tunes ''

Molly Malone "Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") is a traditional song set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become its unofficial anthem. A statue representing Molly Malone was unveiled on Grafton Street by then Lo ...

'' and ''

Wearing of the Green "The Wearing of the Green" is an Irish street ballad lamenting the repression of supporters of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. It is to an old Irish air, and many versions of the lyric exist, the best-known being by Dion Boucicault. The song procl ...

'' in the

20th-century classical music 20th-century classical music describes art music that was written nominally from 1901 to 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously. So this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, impressio ...

idiom - remains in the standard repertoire for many intermediate band programs. A third Gaelic tune, ''

The Minstrel Boy "The Minstrel Boy" is an Irish song written by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) and published as part of his ''Irish Melodies''. Moore himself came to be nicknamed "The Minstrel Boy", and indeed it is the title of Leonard Strong's 1937 biography of ...

'', was also arranged by Tyra and originally intended to round out this collection. Never published, it is now part of the Music Department archives at Eastern Michigan University. For more skilled ensembles, he penned many arrangements of pre-game and half-time music for the Northwestern, LSU and EMU Marching Bands, including nationally televised works performed by the Tiger Marching Band when LSU competed post-season at the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

(1959, 1960), the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

(1962), the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

(1963) and the

Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 ...

(1964). His original compositions include ''Suite for Brass and Timpani'', ''Three Christmas Miniatures'', ''Ceremonial Sketch'' and ''Intravention.'' For Eastern Michigan University, Tyra composed ''Eastern Variants'', the music and lyrics for ''Go Green!'', '' The Pride of the Peninsula'', ''Huron War Cry'', ''EMU Fanfare'' and the break strain for the Huron (now Eagle) . These compositions - integral to modern EMU band tradition - reflect the expertise he developed in writing for low brass voices while serving at the U.S. Navy School of Music.

Northwestern University alma mater

As part of Northwestern University's early 1950s efforts to revitalize its school hymn (''Quaecumque Sunt Vera''), then Director-of-Band
John Paynter
recruited Tyra - at the time an undergraduate music major, trumpet player and staff assistant for the Wildcat Band - to craft English words to replace the hymn's traditional Latin verse. The earliest known recorded performance of their resulting collaboration - rename
Mater (University Hymn)''
- was made on October 3, 1953 by the Northwestern Glee Club. Paynter's instrumental/

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

musical arrangement and Tyra's lyrics (''. . . Hail to Purple, Hail to White, Hail to thee Northwestern . . . .'') remain an integral part of Northwestern University tradition today, typically played by the Wildcat Band at the completion of their halftime performances and at Northwestern graduation ceremonies. See the Wildcat Band performing the .

Marriage and family

Tyra was married four times. In 1955, he married Suzanne Jocelyn Sheldon (Northwestern BSM 1955, b.1933 d.1973) of Chico, California. Their union produced his six - and only children. After divorcing in 1972, Suzanne "Sue" Tyra died in December 1973. In May 1976, he married Valerie Suzanne Franklin (Eastern Michigan University BBA 1971) of Brooklyn, Michigan. They divorced in December 1980. In 1981, Tyra married Judith Ann Hastings Carpenter (b.1942, d.1987) of Pittsburg, Kansas, who preceded him in death. Tyra's granddaughter,

Emily Tyra Emily Tyra (born November 9, 1987) is an American actress, singer and dancer. A native of Minneapolis, Tyra grew up studying dance, music, acting and improvisation. Trained in classical ballet, Tyra began her professional career in 2005 as a da ...

,Emily Tyra at IMDb
/ref> is an established television, film and Broadway actress. Beginning in 2016, she joined the cast of CBS Entertainment's '' Code Black'' television series, portraying Dr. Noa Kean.

Final years

Following his 1989 retirement from the Crane School of Music, Tyra relocated to Atlanta, Georgia where he would spend his remaining years living nearby his daughters and their families. He died on July 7, 1995 of complications arising from leukemia. During his long illness, he liked to tell his doctors that he would put up a good fight, but it was their job to find a cure in time.

Gallery

File: Thomas Tyra USN 1956.jpg, At U.S. Navy School of Music (ca 1956) File:LSU Tiger Band 1963.jpg, 1963 LSU Tiger Marching Band File:Tyra Plank EMU.jpg, Tyra and Max Plank at Eastern Michigan University (ca 1970s) File:Thomas Tyra EMU 1970.jpg, At Eastern Michigan University (ca 1970) File:Tyra Crane Conduct 196.jpg, Dean, SUNY Crane School of Music (ca 1986) File:Tyra Crane 1996.png, At SUNY-Potsdam Crane School of Music (ca 1986)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyra, Thomas 1933 births 1995 deaths American male composers American music arrangers American music educators American people of Polish descent Louisiana State University faculty Eastern Michigan University faculty Western Carolina University faculty State University of New York at Potsdam faculty Northwestern University alumni Bienen School of Music alumni University of Michigan alumni People from Cicero, Illinois 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians