Jay Sydeman
William Jay Sydeman was a prolific American composer. He was born in New York. He studied at Duke University, and received a B.S. degree in 1955 from the Mannes School of Music, having studied with Felix Salzer, Roy Travis, and Roger Sessions. He received his master's in music from the Hartt School in 1958, studying under Arnold Franchetti and Goffredo Petrassi. From 1959 to 1970 he joined the composition faculty at his alma mater Mannes School of Music.
In 1951 he married Hope Millholland, a pianist and fellow student at Mannes.
Winning early acclaim for his avant-garde music, he felt trapped by the prevailing orthodoxies and moved to California in 1970, beginning a period of wandering during which he also studied Buddhism and Anthroposophy. He joined ASCAP in 1975. From 1980 to 1982 he taught at Rudolph Steiner College in Fair Oaks. In 1981 he settled in Sacramento and resumed composition at his former prolific rate, having newly embraced a neotonal musical language. He later moved to Mendocino.
In 1966, his catalog was edited by Nancy B. Reich and published as an early exercise in machine-readable catalogs. A 2nd edition, published by NYU Department of Music Education, was released in 1968. 35 years later she would write his entry for Grove Dictionary of Music.
His music was commissioned from many leading institutions and performers. He won awards from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Pacifica Foundation, and the National Institutes of Arts and Letters.
Selected works
;OperaAria da CapoThe Odyssey;OrchestralMosey'n Along for string orchestra with oboeLyric Piece for chamber orchestraMiniaturesOrchestral AbstractionsStudy No. 1 Study No. 2Study No. 3, premiered by the Boston Symphony OrchestraStudy No. 4 "The 4 Seasons"In Memoriam: J. F. Kennedy for narrator and orchestra Texture Studies Oecumenicus
;BandMovements for concert bandFive Movements for wind symphony
;ConcertanteLargo for cello and string orchestra Concert Piece for horn and string orchestraConcertino for oboe, piano and string orchestra Concerto da Camera for solo violin, flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, viola and cello Concerto da Camera No. 2 for solo violin, oboe, clarinet, viola and cello, premiered at the 92nd Street YConcerto da Camera No. 3 for solo violin, winds and percussion Concerto da Camera for viola and chamber ensemble
- Concerto for Piano Four Hands, premiered by the Chorale Symphony Society in New York's Town Hall.Music for viola, winds and percussion Reflections for violin, cello and string orchestra
- String Quartet No. 2
- Quintet No. 1 for woodwinds
- Sonata for violin and piano Music for brass ensemble and percussion
- Quartet for violin, clarinet, cello and piano
- Quartet for violin, clarinet, trumpet and double bass Music for 10 woodwinds Study for 2 flutes and piano
- Seven Movements for Septet, premiered at Carnegie Recital HallTower Music for brass quintet
- Duo for cello and piano
- Duo for violin and piano
- Trio for flute, double bass and percussion
- Duo for trumpet and percussion The Affections, suite for trumpet and piano, written for and premiered by his student Charles Morrow.
- Sonata for violin solo
- Duo for viola and harpsichord
- Sonata for cello solo
- Trio for bassoon, bass clarinet and piano
- Duo for xylophone and double bass
- Duo for trumpet and amplified double bass
- Duo for horn and piano Music for xylophone solo
- Trio for viola, cello and piano Auld Lang Sydeman for violin and viola
- Duo for flute and viola
- Duo for violin and viola
- Duo No. 2 for violin and violaA New Wedding March for violin and violaPrelude for viola and cello
- Sonata for viola and pianoSong for double bass and piano
- Trio for 3 violasVariations for viola and bassoon
- Sonata, commissioned by and premiered at Carnegie Recital Hall by his Mannes College colleague Jack Chaikin.
;VocalThe Place of Blue Flowers for narrator and violaSongs on Elizabethan Texts for soprano and flute3 Songs after Emily Dickinson for soprano and celloJabberwocky for soprano, flute and celloFive Short Songs for soprano and piano 4 Japanese Songs for soprano and 2 violinsCradle Song for mezzo-soprano and pianoJapanese Love Poems for mezzo-soprano and pianoLa Jour de la Mère for mezzo-soprano and pianoMoon Over Mountain for mezzo-soprano and pianoThe Fence for mezzo-soprano and pianoThe Foundation Stone for mezzo-soprano and pianoI Sing the Praises for mezzo-soprano and pianoA Prayer for alto, viola and pianoMalediction for tenor, string quartet and tape. Commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, premiered at Tully Hall in 1971. Inspired by Tristam Shandy.It Seems for baritone and pianoUpon Julia's Clothes for baritone and pianoA Spider for baritone and piano4 Psalms for bass and piano