SIEGMEISTER, ELIE  BIOGRAPHY

Born in New York in 1909, Elie Siegmeister was among the leading American composers of his generation. He studied at Columbia College and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and taught at Brooklyn College and at the New York School for Social Research, then at the University of Minnesota. From 1949 he was professor at Hofstra University, later serving as composer-in-residence. The recipient of various honours and distinctions, he helped to establish the American Composers Alliance. As a composer Elie Siegmeister turned to American sources of inspiration, to jazz and to folk-music, elements of which went towards forming his distinctive musical language. His orchestral works range from his American Holiday of 1933 to nine symphonies. Vocal compositions include a work based on Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream, and his stage-works and operas, the last of them based on Bernard Malamud, constitute a significant part of his achievement. He also contributed to the repertoire of American chamber music and works for solo piano.