Harold Boatrite (April 2, 1932 – April 26, 2021) was an American composer.
After early studies with
Stanley Hollingsworth
Stanley Walker Hollingsworth (August 27, 1924, Berkeley, California – October 29, 2003, Rocklin, California) was an American composer and teacher. He was a student of composer Darius Milhaud from 1944–46, and of Gian Carlo Menotti from 1948â ...
, Harold Boatrite was awarded a fellowship to the
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...
where he studied composition with
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor.
Career
Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...
and took part in the orchestration seminars of
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
. In 1961 he was invited by
Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century.
Early life, childhood debut, and education
Serkin was born in ...
to be composer-in-residence at the Marlboro Music Festival.
He received an honorary doctorate in 1967 from the
Combs College of Music
Combs College of Music was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1885 as Combs Broad Street Conservatory of Music by Gilbert Raynolds Combs, celebrated pianist, organist and composer.
The faculty included famous musicians such ...
and subsequently was appointed to the faculty of
Haverford College, where he taught theory and composition until 1980. During that time ( 1974 to 1977 ) he served on the music panel of the
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania's communities through the arts. This mission is paired wit ...
.
In honor of his fiftieth birthday in 1982, a series of concerts devoted exclusively to his music was presented by the Pennsylvania Alliance for American Music. Among the participants in the series were th
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia the
Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...
Choir and th
Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia[http://www.mcchorus.org/prognt20.htm Mendelssohn program notes] Boatrite has written in a wide variety of media ranging from solo and chamber pieces to large-scale choral and orchestral works. His music has been heard throughout the United States and in Europe, most notably, at the
Prague Autumn International Music Festival.
He has received many commissions including a concerto for piano and orchestra for th
National Association of Composers USA a concerto for harpsichord and strings commissioned by
Temple Painter, Fantasia on a Gregorian Tune for string orchestra, harpsichord, celesta and boy choir commissioned by th
Samuel S. Fels Fund and a ballet, "Childermas," for CBS-TV which premiered on national television in 1969.
In 1992 Boatrite was appointed composer-in-residence for th
Conductors Institute at the University of South Carolina He served for many years as new music consultant to the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. His chamber music is recorded on the Capstone label and his orchestral scores are housed in
the Edwin A. Fleisher Orchestral Collection,
Free Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gover ...
.
One of Boatrite's later projects was the completion of a series of Latin
motets
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Marga ...
for unaccompanied chorus.
Selected works
*"Study on a Welsh Tune" for Pipe Organ (1953)
[Scores accessible at the Haverford College Music Library]
*Song Cycle: Night Songs for High Voice and Piano (words by Lydia Ann Francis and Edgar Allan Poe) (1954–1960)
*Sonata for Piano (1956)
[Capstone Records CPS-8654 "Harold Boatrite, Sonatas and Suites"](_blank)
/ref>
*Three Alleluias for A Cappella Chorus (1957) [Archival Recordings accessible at the Edwin A. Fleisher Orchestral Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia]
*Lyric Suite for Piano (1957)
Selected Music
Suite for Harpsichord; Pastorale
Performer: Temple Painter
Suite for Harpsichord; Chaconne
Performer: Temple Painter
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatrite, Harold
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
American male classical composers
American classical composers
2021 deaths
1932 births
Musicians from Philadelphia
Haverford College faculty
Pupils of Lukas Foss
21st-century American composers
20th-century American composers
Classical musicians from Pennsylvania
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians