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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Kay, Ulysses Simpson
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BIOGRAPHY |
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Ulysses Kay was born on January 7, 1917, Tucson, AZ, to Ulysses Simpson Kay Sr. and Elizabeth Kay and died in Englewood, N.J., May 20, 1995. Ulysses Kay came from a musical family where everyone in his family played an instrument. His uncle, Joseph "King Oliver" was a renowned trumpet player and mentor to Louis Armstrong. At the tender age of five, Ulysses Kay studied piano privately in Tucson. While in elementary school, he played the violin, as well as the alto saxophone, but continued to grow and study on the piano.
After graduation, Kay enrolled in liberal arts at the University of Arizona, but later changed his major to public school music. During this time, Kay developed an interest in composing and also met William Grant Still, who provided the young composer with much needed encouragement and determination to continue composing.
In 1938, Kay received his undergraduate degree in public school music, but he continued to improve his skills in composition.
Kay was awarded a scholarship to study composition at the Eastman School of Music. While attending Eastman, Kay wrote his first composition: A Set of Ten Piano Pieces for Children (1939) and Sinfonetta for Orchestra (1939). In 1940, Kay won first prize in a competition hosted by Phi Mu Alpha with the composition Five Mosaics (1940). In the same year, Kay earned a Master of Arts degree in composition, and continued his studies with Paul Hindemith at Tanglewood and Yale in 1941, and Otto Luening at Columbia. From 1942-46, Kay performed in the Navy band at Quonset Point, RI, where he played saxophone, piano, flute, and piccolo. Here Kay composed the following compositions: Come Away, Come Away Death (1944) and Evocations for Concert Band (1944) and New Horizons (1944), which received the American Broadcasting Prize.
The years of 1945-52 were some of Kay’s most productive. Kay was awarded a prize from Broadcast Music, Inc., for his composition Suite for Orchestra (1945) and the Gershwin Memorial for A Short Overture (1947). It was during his time he also received the Ditson and Julius Rosenwald Fellowships, the Priz de Rome, and a Fulbright Award, which allowed him to travel to Italy during the years of 1949-1952. It was during this time some of his most notable film and television compositions were written, for example The Quiet One (1948).
After returning from Italy in 1952, Kay accepted a post as adviser and then consultant with Broadcast Music, Inc., where he stayed until 1968. In 1954 Kay wrote his second orchestral composition, Serenade for Orchestra (1954), which was commissioned and premiered by the Louisville Symphony. In 1958, Ulysses Kay, Roger Sessions, Roy Harris, and Peter Mennin were apart of a cultural exchange program that visited the Soviet Union. Kay composed numerous choral compositions from 1958-1960 as a result of his visit to Russia. They include the following: Hymn Anthem on the Tune "Hanover" (1959), The Epicure (1959), and Phoebus Arise (1959).
In 1961, Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961) lost his life while attempting to establish peace in South Africa. After learning of this tragedy, Kay wanted to offer a musical tribute to the fallen Civil Rights leader. When commissioned by the Meadow Brook Music Festival for a composition, and having the resources of the Detroit Symphony at hand, Kay composed Markings (1964), a five section-symphonic essay in the honor of Dag Hammarskjold and dedicated to Oliver Daniel.
Choral Triptych (1962) was written as a result of a Ford Foundation Grant. Kay’s band composition, Forever Free (1962), which was premiered by the U.S. Marine Band is considered was one of his best works for band. Kay was appointed Professor of Music at Lehman College in 1968. At this time he composed mainly for instrumental mediums. Herald (1968), for brass octet. Other important compositions are Chariots (1978), and Five Winds (1985). At the time of his death in May 20, 1995, Kay was at work on a composition for the New Philharmonic Orchestra. |
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