Happy Birthday Julia Perry

Happy Birthday Julia Perry

Today would have been American composer Julia Perry’s 92nd birthday. Perry was one of the first African American composers to gain acclaim – and establish a career in composition.  Her music was largely neoclassical, but also included experimentation with...

Grieving and healing: Julia Perry’s “Stabat Mater”

The U.S. continues to mourn the massacre of nine African Americans in a South Carolina church.  At the Rev. Clementa Pinckney’s funeral service, President Barack Obama drew on the healing power of words melded with music, as he sang “Amazing Grace.”  This was a...

Julia Perry: Neoclassicism at its Best

We’ve featured American composer Julia Perry (1924-1979) on this blog before, but the excellence of her music—and the neglect it still faces—bears more mention. Born in Ohio, Perry received support from her parents for her musical endeavors from an early age.  A...

Julia Perry

Unfortunately, little information is readily available on the life and work of Julia Perry (1924-1979). She was born in Kentucky, raised in Ohio, and studied at the Westminster Choir College, Juilliard, and abroad, including with Nadia Boulanger in France. Among her...
Happy Women’s History Month!

Happy Women’s History Month!

We are thrilled that many concerts are taking place to celebrate Women’s History Month – As our friend conductor Wilbur Lin says, “Elevating women artists should not be limited to a single month, but #WomenHistoryMonth is always a good time to review how we are...