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Who is a composer of American art song?
Americans come from every part of the world, so what makes a composer "American?" For purposes of this Web site, the composer must have either been born in American or be a naturalized citizen, and most of the composer's output must have been produced while he/she lived in America. In addition, she/he must generally be regarded as American in musicological contexts. For example, although Schoenberg became a citizen in 1947, he is not considered an American composer.
An even trickier question -- what is an art song? The line between classical song and Broadway tune grows blurrier every day, so I have tended toward inclusion. If a young composer indicates on his Web site that he writes classical music, then I take his/her word for it. My definition also specifies that the accompaniment to the singer be no more than three instruments; the great majority of arts songs are for voice and piano alone.
In the listing below, if the composer has a personal Web site or a page on a larger Web site that provides information about his/her vocal output, I have included the link to that site. If no such site exists and I consider the composer to be very significant in the field, I have included a link to another page on this site.
The last column indicates whether more information can be found in Victoria Villiamil's A Singer's Guide to The American Art Song, 1870 - 1980.
Composers: Please feel free to send me information about your works and career at info "at sign" americanartsong.org. I will be happy to add your name and a link to your web page.
| Name |
Year of Birth |
Year of Death |
Referenced in Villamil |
| Aborn, Lora |
1907 |
2005 |
No |
| Adamo, Mark |
1962 |
|
No |
| Adams, Leslie |
1933 |
|
Yes |
| Adler, Samuel |
1928 |
|
Yes |
| Adolphe, Bruce |
1955 |
|
No |
| Aikman, James |
1959 |
|
No |
| Ames, William T. |
1901 |
|
Yes |
| Anderson, T.J. |
1928 |
|
No |
| Antheil, George |
1900 |
1959 |
Yes |
| Argento, Dominick |
1927 |
|
Yes |
| Austin, Elizabeth |
1938 |
|
No |
| Ayres, Frederic |
1876 |
1926 |
Yes |
| Babbitt, Milton |
1916 |
|
Yes |
| Bachlund, Gary |
|
|
No |
| Bacon, Ernst |
1898 |
1990 |
Yes |
| Baksa, Robert |
1938 |
|
Yes |
| Barab, Seymour |
1921 |
|
Yes |
| Barber, Samuel |
1910 |
1981 |
Yes |
| Barnett, Alice |
1886 |
1975 |
Yes |
| Barnett, Carol |
|
|
No |
| Bartlett, Homer |
1845 |
1920 |
Yes |
| Bassett, Leslie |
1923 |
|
Yes |
| Bauer, Marion |
1887 |
1955 |
Yes |
| Beach, Amy Marcy |
1867 |
1944 |
Yes |
| Beaser, Robert |
1954 |
|
Yes |
| Beeson, Jack |
1921 |
2010 |
Yes |
| Belden, George |
|
|
No |
| Berg, Christopher |
1948 |
|
No |
| Berger, Jean |
1909 |
|
Yes |
| Bergsma, William |
1921 |
1994 |
Yes |
| Bernstein, Leonard |
1918 |
1990 |
Yes |
| Bertolozzi, Joseph |
1959 |
|
No |
| Bestor, Charles |
|
|
No |
| Bielawa, Herbert |
|
|
No |
| Binkerd, Gordon |
1916 |
2003 |
Yes |
| Birch, Robert Fairfax |
1917 |
|
Yes |
| Biscardi, Chester |
1948 |
|
No |
| Blitzstein, Marc |
1905 |
1964 |
Yes |
| Boatwright, Howard |
1918 |
1999 |
Yes |
| Bohun, Lyle de |
|
|
No |
| Bolcom, William |
1938 |
|
No |
| Bond, Carrie Jacobs |
1862 |
1946 |
Yes |
| Bonds, Margaret |
1913 |
1972 |
Yes |
| Bone, Gene |
1915 |
1992 |
Yes |
| Bowles, Paul |
1910 |
1999 |
Yes |
| Boyadjian, Hayg |
|
|
No |
| Branscombe, Gena |
1881 |
1977 |
Yes |
| Brown, Charles |
1940 |
|
No |
| Brown, Elizabeth |
|
|
No |
| Buck, Dudley |
1839 |
1909 |
Yes |
| Burleigh, Henry (Harry T.) |
1866 |
1949 |
Yes |
| Byron, Carl |
|
|
No |
| Cacioppo, Curt |
1951 |
|
No |
| Cadman, Charles Wakefield |
1881 |
1946 |
Yes |
| Cage, John |
1912 |
1992 |
Yes |
| Calabro, Louis |
1926 |
|
Yes |
| Campbell-Tipton, Louis |
1877 |
1921 |
Yes |
| Capers, Valerie |
|
|
No |
| Carpenter, John Alden |
1876 |
1951 |
Yes |
| Carter, Elliott |
1908 |
|
Yes |
| Caruso, Rich |
|
|
No |
| Chadwick, George Whitefield |
1854 |
1931 |
Yes |
| Chanler, Theodore |
1902 |
1961 |
Yes |
| Charles, Ernst |
1895 |
1984 |
Yes |
| Chasalow, Eric |
1955 |
|
No |
| Chen, Ling Chao |
|
|
No |
| Ching, Michael |
1958 |
|
No |
| Cipullo, Tom |
1960 |
|
No |
| Citkowitz, Israel |
1909 |
1974 |
Yes |
| Clark, Rebecca |
|
|
No |
| Clough-Leighter, Henry |
1874 |
1956 |
Yes |
| Cloud, Judith |
|
|
No |
| Cohen, Cecil |
1894 |
1967 |
No |
| Conte, David |
1955 |
|
No |
| Cook, Will Marion |
1869 |
1944 |
No |
| Copland, Aaron |
1900 |
1990 |
Yes |
| Corigliano, John |
1938 |
|
Yes |
| Cortes, Ramiro |
1933 |
1984 |
Yes |
| Cowell, Henry |
1897 |
1965 |
Yes |
| Creston, Paul |
1906 |
1985 |
Yes |
| Crist, Bainbridge |
1883 |
1969 |
Yes |
| Cumming, Richard |
1928 |
|
Yes |
| Curran, Pearl |
1875 |
1941 |
Yes |
| Damrosch, Walter |
1860 |
1950 |
Yes |
| Dashow, James |
|
|
No |
| Davison, Harriette |
|
|
No |
| deBlasio, Chris |
1959 |
1993 |
No |
| DeKoven, Reginald |
1859 |
1920 |
Yes |
| Del Tredici, David |
1937 |
|
Yes |
| Dello Joio, Norman |
1913 |
|
Yes |
| Diamond, David |
1915 |
|
Yes |
| Diemer, Emma Lou |
|
|
No |
| Dobson, Tom |
1890 |
1918 |
Yes |
| Dougherty, Celius |
1902 |
1986 |
Yes |
| Duke, John |
1899 |
1984 |
Yes |
| Duke, Vernon |
1903 |
1969 |
Yes |
| Earnest, John David |
1940 |
|
No |
| Eastman, Donna Kelly |
|
|
No |
| Edmunds, John |
1913 |
1986 |
Yes |
| Edwards, Clara |
1887 |
1974 |
Yes |
| Elwell, Herbert |
1898 |
1974 |
Yes |
| Engel, Carl |
1883 |
1944 |
Yes |
| Epstein, Paul A. |
1938 |
|
No |
| Fairchild, Blair |
1877 |
1933 |
Yes |
| Farwell, Arthur |
1872 |
1952 |
Yes |
| Fennimore, Joseph |
1940 |
|
Yes |
| Field, Corey |
|
|
No |
| Fine, Irving |
1914 |
1962 |
Yes |
| Finney, Ross Lee |
1906 |
1997 |
Yes |
| Fisher, William Arms |
1861 |
1948 |
No |
| Fitzwilliam, James |
|
|
No |
| Flagello, Nicolas |
1928 |
|
Yes |
| Flanagan, William |
1923 |
1969 |
Yes |
| Foote, Arthur |
1853 |
1937 |
Yes |
| Foster, Stephen |
1826 |
1864 |
No |
| Frank, Gabriela Lena |
1972 |
|
No |
| Frantzen, John |
1964 |
|
No |
| Frazelle, Kenneth |
1955 |
|
No |
| Gates, Keith |
1948 |
2007 |
No |
| Giannini, Vittorio |
1903 |
1966 |
Yes |
| Gideon, Miriam |
1906 |
1996 |
Yes |
| Gilbert, Henry F. |
1868 |
1928 |
Yes |
| Gilberte, Hallett |
1872 |
1946 |
Yes |
| Glanville-Hicks, Peggy |
1912 |
1990 |
Yes |
| Gold, Ernest |
1921 |
|
Yes |
| Gordon, Ricky Ian |
1956 |
|
No |
| Graham, Robert |
|
|
No |
| Griffes, Charles Tomlinson |
1884 |
1920 |
Yes |
| Grill, Stan |
|
|
No |
| Gruenberg, Louis |
1884 |
1964 |
Yes |
| Hadley, Henry K. |
1871 |
1937 |
Yes |
| Hageman, Richard |
1882 |
1966 |
Yes |
| Hagen, Daron |
1961 |
|
No |
| Harbison, John |
1938 |
|
No |
| Heggie, Jake |
1961 |
|
No |
| Hennessy, Martin |
1953 |
|
No |
| Hersch, Fred |
|
|
No |
| Hess, Benton |
1947 |
|
No |
| Hickey, Sean |
1970 |
|
No |
| Hodkinson, Sydney |
|
|
No |
| Hoiby, Lee |
1926 |
|
Yes |
| Homer, Sidney |
1864 |
1953 |
Yes |
| Hoover, Katherine |
|
|
No |
| Horsman, Edward |
1873 |
1918 |
Yes |
| Houtz, Steven |
|
|
No |
| Hovhaness, Alan |
1911 |
|
Yes |
| Howe, Mary |
1882 |
1964 |
Yes |
| Hundley, Richard |
1931 |
|
Yes |
| Hurley, Susan |
|
|
No |
| Hutchinson, Warner |
|
|
No |
| Hyson, Winifred |
|
|
No |
| Ide, Chester E. |
1878 |
1944 |
No |
| Ives, Charles |
1874 |
1954 |
Yes |
| Ivey, Jean Eichelberger |
1923 |
|
No |
| Jacobi, Frederick |
1891 |
1952 |
Yes |
| Johns, Clayton |
1857 |
1932 |
No |
| Kagen, Sergius |
1909 |
1964 |
Yes |
| Keele, Richard |
1954 |
|
No |
| Koch, John |
1928 |
|
Yes |
| Kidwell, David |
1968 |
|
No |
| Kohn, Steven |
1957 |
|
No |
| Kramer, Arthur Walter |
1890 |
1969 |
Yes |
| Kulp, Jonathan |
1970 |
|
No |
| Laderman, Ezra |
1924 |
|
Yes |
| LaForge, Frank |
1879 |
1953 |
Yes |
| Laitman, Lori |
1955 |
|
No |
| LaMontaine, John |
1920 |
|
Yes |
| Lang, Margaret Ruthven |
1867 |
1972 |
Yes |
| Lann, Vanessa |
1968 |
|
No |
| Larsen, Libby |
1950 |
|
No |
| Lasser, Phillip |
1963 |
|
No |
| Lauer, Elizabeth |
|
|
No |
| Lauridsen, Morten |
1943 |
|
No |
| Lees, Benjamin |
1924 |
|
Yes |
| Lehrman, Leonard |
1949 |
|
No |
| Lekberg, Sven |
1899 |
1984 |
Yes |
| Lieberson, Peter |
1946 |
|
No |
| Locklair, Dan |
1949 |
|
No |
| Lockwood, Normand |
1906 |
|
Yes |
| Lockwood, Annea |
1939 |
|
No |
| Loeffler, Charles Martin |
1861 |
1935 |
Yes |
| Luening, Otto |
1900 |
1996 |
Yes |
| MacCombie, Bruce |
1943 |
|
No |
| MacDowell, Edward |
1860 |
1908 |
Yes |
| Malotte, Albert Hay |
1895 |
1964 |
No |
| Mana-Zucca, |
1887 |
1981 |
Yes |
| Mandelbaum, Joel |
1932 |
|
No |
| Manning, Kathleen Lockhart |
1890 |
1951 |
Yes |
| Martino, Donald |
1931 |
|
Yes |
| Mathews, Norman |
|
|
No |
| McArthur, Edwin |
|
|
No |
| McKay, George Frederick |
1899 |
1970 |
No |
| McMichael, Catherine |
|
|
No |
| Mechem, Kirke |
1925 |
|
No |
| Mehldau, Brad |
|
|
No |
| Mollicone, Henry |
|
|
No |
| Monk, Meredith |
1942 |
|
No |
| Moore, Douglas |
1893 |
1969 |
Yes |
| Moore, Ben |
1960 |
|
No |
| Moore, Undine S. |
1904 |
1989 |
No |
| Moore, Mary Carr |
1873 |
1957 |
Yes |
| Moss, Lawrence |
1927 |
|
No |
| Munn, Zae |
|
|
No |
| Musto, John |
1954 |
|
No |
| Naginski, Charles |
1909 |
1940 |
Yes |
| Nasto, Paul |
|
|
No |
| Neidlinger, William Harold |
1863 |
1924 |
Yes |
| Nelson, Robert |
1941 |
|
No |
| Nevin, Ethelbert |
1862 |
1901 |
Yes |
| Niles, John Jacob |
1892 |
1980 |
Yes |
| Nordoff, Paul |
1909 |
1977 |
Yes |
| Northland, Aurora |
|
|
No |
| Owens, Robert |
1922 |
|
Yes |
| Oyens, Tera de Marez |
1932 |
1996 |
No |
| Paine, John Knowles |
1839 |
1906 |
No |
| Parker, Horatio |
1863 |
1919 |
Yes |
| Horatio, Parker, Horatio |
1925 |
|
No |
| Pasatieri, Thomas |
1945 |
|
Yes |
| Paulus, Stephen |
1949 |
|
No |
| Penn, William |
1943 |
|
No |
| Perera, Ronald |
1941 |
|
Yes |
| Perkinson, Coleridge-Taylor |
1932 |
2004 |
No |
| Perle, George |
1915 |
|
Yes |
| Persichetti, Vincent |
1915 |
1987 |
Yes |
| Pierce, Alexandra |
1934 |
|
No |
| Pinkham, Daniel |
1923 |
2006 |
Yes |
| Price, Florence |
1887 |
1953 |
Yes |
| Primosch, James |
1956 |
|
No |
| Ran, Shulamit |
1949 |
|
No |
| Raphling, Sam |
1910 |
1988 |
Yes |
| Raschbach, Oscar |
1888 |
1975 |
No |
| Read, Gardner |
1913 |
2005 |
Yes |
| Reif, Paul |
1910 |
|
Yes |
| Rich, Gladys |
|
|
No |
| Riegger, Wallingford |
1885 |
1961 |
Yes |
| Rieti, Vittorio |
1898 |
1994 |
Yes |
| Rochberg, George |
1918 |
2005 |
Yes |
| Rogers, Clara Kathleen |
1844 |
1931 |
Yes |
| Rogers, James H. |
1857 |
1940 |
Yes |
| Rorem, Ned |
1923 |
|
Yes |
| Roy, William |
1928 |
2003 |
No |
| Rubenstein, David |
|
|
No |
| Saalbach, Valerie |
1951 |
|
No |
| Sacco, John |
1905 |
1987 |
Yes |
| Salter, Mary Turner |
1856 |
1938 |
Yes |
| Santos, Erik |
|
|
No |
| Sargent, Paul |
1910 |
1987 |
Yes |
| Sargon, Simon |
1938 |
|
No |
| Scearce, J. Mark |
1960 |
|
No |
| Scheer, Gene |
1958 |
|
No |
| Schickele, Peter |
1935 |
|
No |
| Schmitz, Alan |
1950 |
|
No |
| Schnauber, Tom |
1969 |
|
No |
| Schonthal, Ruth |
1924 |
2006 |
No |
| Schuman, William |
1910 |
1992 |
Yes |
| Seeger, Ruth Crawford |
1901 |
1953 |
Yes |
| Sessions, Roger |
1896 |
1985 |
Yes |
| Shaffer, Jeanne |
1925 |
|
No |
| Shatin, Judith |
|
|
No |
| Shen, Hsueh-Yung |
1952 |
|
No |
| Shepherd, Arthur |
1880 |
1958 |
Yes |
| Shields, Alice |
|
|
No |
| Shore, Clare |
|
|
No |
| Shulman, Alan |
1915 |
2002 |
No |
| Siegmeister, Elie |
1909 |
1991 |
Yes |
| Silsbee, Ann |
1930 |
2003 |
No |
| Sisco, David W. |
1975 |
|
No |
| Siskind, Paul |
1962 |
|
No |
| Skelton, Logan |
|
|
No |
| Skipworth, George |
|
|
No |
| Smith, Hale |
1925 |
|
Yes |
| Smith, Julia |
1911 |
1989 |
Yes |
| Sousa, John Philip |
1854 |
1932 |
No |
| Speaks, Oley |
1874 |
1948 |
Yes |
| Spross, Charles Gilbert |
1874 |
1961 |
Yes |
| St. Pierre, Donald |
|
|
No |
| Starer, Robert |
1924 |
2001 |
No |
| Steinert, Alexander |
1900 |
1982 |
Yes |
| Still, William Grant |
1895 |
1978 |
Yes |
| Strickland, Lily |
1887 |
1958 |
Yes |
| Strilko, Anthony |
1931 |
|
Yes |
| Stroope, J. Randall |
1953 |
|
No |
| Suchy, Gregoria Karides |
|
|
No |
| Susa, Conrad |
1935 |
|
Yes |
| Swanson, Howard |
1907 |
1978 |
Yes |
| Swenson, Warren Michel |
|
|
No |
| Talma, Louise |
1906 |
1996 |
Yes |
| Thomas, Andrew |
1939 |
|
No |
| Thomas, R. Pearson |
1957 |
|
No |
| Thome, Diane |
|
|
No |
| Thompson, Randall |
1899 |
1984 |
Yes |
| Thomson, Virgil |
1896 |
1989 |
Yes |
| Tobenski, Dennis |
1982 |
|
No |
| Toscano, Thomas |
1952 |
|
No |
| Trinkley, Bruce |
1945 |
|
No |
| Tyson, Mildred Lund |
|
|
No |
| Upright, Scott |
|
|
No |
| van de Vate, Nancy |
|
|
No |
| Vardell, Charles |
1893 |
1962 |
No |
| Vercoe, Elizabeth |
|
|
No |
| Vollinger, William |
|
|
No |
| Walden, Stanley |
1932 |
|
No |
| Walker, Gwyneth |
1947 |
|
No |
| Walker, George |
1922 |
|
Yes |
| Wallach, Joelle |
1946 |
|
No |
| Ward, Robert |
1917 |
|
Yes |
| Ware, Harriett |
1877 |
1962 |
Yes |
| Warren, Elinor Remick |
1900 |
1991 |
Yes |
| Watts, Wintter |
1884 |
1962 |
Yes |
| Weber, Ben |
1916 |
1979 |
Yes |
| Weesner, Anna |
1965 |
|
No |
| Weigl, Karl |
1881 |
1949 |
Yes |
| Weill, Kurt |
1900 |
1950 |
No |
| Weisgall, Hugo |
1912 |
|
Yes |
| Welwood, Arthur |
|
|
No |
| Wheelock, Donald |
|
|
No |
| Whithorne, Emerson |
1884 |
1958 |
Yes |
| Wilcox, Stephen |
|
|
No |
| Wilson, Richard |
1941 |
|
No |
| Wolfe, Jacques |
|
|
No |
| Wood, Jeffrey |
1954 |
|
No |
| Work, John W. |
1901 |
1968 |
No |
| Wyner, Yehudi |
1929 |
|
Yes |
| Yeston, Maury |
1945 |
|
No |
| Zaimont, Judith Lang |
1945 |
|
No |
| Zaninelli, Luigi |
1932 |
|
No |
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