Ulysses Kay was born in Tuscon, AZ, on this date in 1917. A nephew of jazz musician King Oliver, his uncle encouraged him to study music formally. Likewise, he received encouragement from William Grant Still, then recognized as the “Dean of African-American Composers.” Kay attended the University of Arizona, before heading on to the Eastman-School, where he studied with Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers. Also influential were studies with Paul Hindemith at the Berkshire Music Center, and then Yale.
Kay served in the United States Navy during World War II. He then continued his studies at Columbia with Otto Luening. A recipient of multiple scholarships, grants and awards, he was able to live and study abroad, in Rome, where he attended the American Academy, for several years.
From 1953 to 1968, he worked for BMI. He was then appointed professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, where he remained until his retirement, two decades later. A longtime resident of Teaneck, NJ, he composed orchestral, chamber, choral and instrumental works, and five operas. He died in 1995 at the age of 88.
We’ll celebrate the 100th anniversary of Kay’s birth with an hour of his music, “Giving Kay His Say,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST on “The Lost Chord,” on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.
An interview with Kay conducted by Bruce Duffie:
