Warren Benson (January 26, 1924 – October 6, 2005) was an American composer. His compositions consist mostly of music for wind instruments and percussion. His most notable piece is titled ''The Leaves Are Falling''.

Biography

Benson was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

in 1924, and was a graduate of

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

. He was a professional performer by the age of 14, when he played

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Ormandy, Reiner, Goossens, Bernstein, and others while an undergraduate at 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 ...

. From 1950 to 1952, Benson was awarded two successive Fulbright grants to teach at

Anatolia College Anatolia College (Greek: Κολλέγιο Ανατόλια, , also known as the American College (Greek: Αμερικάνικο Κολλέγιο, ), is a private, non-profit, educational institution located in Pylaia, a suburb of Thessaloniki, ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, Greece. There he established a five-year bilingual music curriculum and organized the Anatolia College Chorale, the first scholastic co-educational choral group in that country. After 14 years at Ithaca College (where, in 1953, he organized the first touring percussion ensemble in the eastern United States – and the second worldwide), Benson became professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music. During his tenure there (1967–1993), he was honored with an Alumni Citation for Excellence, the Kilbourn professorship for distinguished teaching, and was named University Mentor. In 1994 he was appointed professor emeritus. He also served as distinguished visiting professor at Southern Methodist University from 1986 to 1988. Benson composed over 100 musical works. He is known for his moving song cycles and dynamic works for percussion and winds. His music has been performed in more than 40 countries, and frequently recorded. Benson received numerous awards for his music, including a 1981 Guggenheim Composer Fellowship, the Lillian Fairchild Award, a Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association, many ASCAP Serious Music Awards, and three

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

composer commissions. He was a founding member of the

Percussive Arts Society Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is a non-profit organization for professional percussionists and percussion educators. It was founded in 1961 in the United States and has over 5,000 members in 40 American chapters, with another 28 chapters abroad. It ...

, and was elected to its Hall of Fame, as well as to the National Band Association Academy of Excellence. In addition to his published music, Benson wrote "Creative Projects in Musicianship", poetry and humorous fiction. In 1999, he celebrated his 75th birthday with the publication of "…And My Daddy Will Play the Drums: Limericks for Friends of Drummers".

Legacy

Benson's notable students include

Michael Glenn Williams Michael Glenn Williams (born October 23, 1957 in Lancaster, California) is an American composer, pianist and technologist. Biography Williams' earliest years were spent in New York City, beginning trumpet studies and composing at 8 years old. ...

Eric Ewazen Eric Ewazen (; born March 1, 1954, Cleveland, Ohio) is an American composer and teacher. Biography Ewazen studied composition under Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Warren Benson, and Eugene Kurtz at the Ea ...

Claude Baker W. Claude Baker Jr. (born April 12, 1948 Lenoir, North Carolina) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Claude Baker attained a B.M. degree, magna cum laude, from East Carolina University in 1970. He subsequently s ...

, Robert Paterson, Gordon Stout, John Joseph Davye, Paul Phillips, Roger Briggs, Martin Amlin, Paul Mack Somers, and Michael Udow. He is the subject of a bio-bibliography by

Alan Wagner Alan Cyril Wagner (October 1, 1931 – December 18, 2007) was an American television executive, radio personality, writer, and opera historian and critic. He served as the East Coast vice president of programming at CBS from 1976 to 1982. After ...

, published by Edwin Mellen Press.

Works

Solo

*''Three Macedonian Miniatures'', for solo piano *''If I Could Be?'', for solo piano *''Not Without Merritt'', for solo piano

Chamber ensemble

*Canon, for tuba and hand drum *Capriccio, for violin, viola, cello, and piano *Concertino, for alto saxophone and wind ensemble (1971) *''The Dream Net'', for alto saxophone and string quartet (1983) *''A Gentle Song'', for B-flat clarinet and piano (1953) *Invocation and Dance *''Largo Tah'' *''Quartet One'', for string quartet *Quintet, for oboe and string quartet *''Steps'' *String Quartet No. 1 *''Wind Rose'', for saxophone quartet

Vocal/choral

*''The Drums of Summer'', for small wind ensemble (27 players) and SATB chamber choir (16 singers) *''An Englishman with an Atlas or America the Unpronounceable'', for a cappella SAB chorus (1976) *''Five Lyrics Of Luise Bogan'', for mezzo-soprano and flute (1984) *''Nara'' *Psalm 24 *Psalm 139: "Whither Can I Go from Your Spirit?", for SATB chorus and keyboard (1981) *''Sing and Rejoice'', for a cappella SSAATTBB chorus (1997) *''The Singers and The Cherry Tree'', for a cappella SATB chorus (1999) *''Song of the Pop-Bottlers'', for three-part treble a cappella chorus (1970) *''Songs for the End of the World'' *''Three Solitary Songs'', for medium voice and piano

Band

*Adagietto *''Danzon-Memory'' *''Dawn's Early Light'' *Divertissement *''Ginger Marmalade'' (1978) *''Grainger and Friends'' *''The Leaves Are Falling'' *''The Mask of Night'' *''Night Song'' (1959) *''Passing Bell'' (1974) *''Polyphonies for Percussion'' *''Remembrance'' *''Shadow Wood'' *''The Solitary Dancer'' *Symphony No. 2 ("Lost Songs") *''Vigor'' *''Wings''

Band with soloist(s)

*''Aeolian Song'', for alto saxophone and band *Concertino for Alto Saxophone and Band *''Helix'', for solo tuba and concert band *''Recuerdo'', for oboe/English horn (one player) and band *''Star Edge'', for alto saxophone and wind ensemble

Orchestra

*''Beyond Winter: Sweet Aftershowers'' *''The Man with the Blue Guitar'' *''Polyphonies''

Orchestra with soloist(s)

*''Aeolian Song'', for alto saxophone and small orchestra *Concertino for Alto Saxophone *Concertino for Flute, Strings and Percussion

References

External links

Warren Benson's page at Theodore Presser Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Warren American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century classical composers 1924 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Detroit University of Michigan alumni Timpanists American percussionists Ithaca College faculty 20th-century American composers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Classical musicians from Michigan 20th-century American male musicians Cass Technical High School alumni Fulbright alumni