Basic Facts
Born: March 25, 1924, Lexington, Kentucky
Died: April 29, 1979, Akron, Ohio
Type of Performer: composer
Genre: Neoclassical
Awards:
- Two Guggenheim Fellowships to study with Nadia Boulanger and Lugia Dallapiccola
- Boulanger Grand Prix, c. 1954
- National Association of Negro Musicians Scholarship
- National Association of Arts and Letter grant, 1964
About Julia Perry
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Julia Perry grew up in Akron, Ohio, studying voice, piano, and composition. Her father was a doctor and amateur pianist (he once accompanied famed tenor Roland Hayes on tour), and her mother encouraged her music lessons. After graduating high school, she attended Westminster Choir College, where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music. She went on to study at Juilliard, and she spent summers at Tanglewood's Berkshire Music Center. Her first published work, "Stabat Mater," which came out in 1951, earned her instant acclaim. In 1952 and 1954, she received two Guggenheim Fellowships to study in Europe with composers Lugia Dallpiccola in Florence, Italy, and Nadia Boulanger in Paris, France. She won the Boulanger Grand Prix for her Violin Sonata.
She returned to the United States in 1959 and took a post at Florida A&M College (now University). She later moved to Atlanta to teach at Atlanta University before moving back to Akron in 1960 and taking an apartment above her father's practice to compose. Her experimental work for percussion, piano, and harp, Homunculus C.F. was published in 1960. Throughout the 1960s, she organized tours and concerts for the U.S. Information Service. By the end of the decade her works had garnered wide appreciation and were being performed by orchestras like the New York Philharmonic. Unfortunately, in 1970 she had the first of a series of strokes that left her paralyzed on her right side. She taught herself how to write with her left hand, and despite her deteriorating health, she continued to compose until her death in 1979.
She returned to the United States in 1959 and took a post at Florida A&M College (now University). She later moved to Atlanta to teach at Atlanta University before moving back to Akron in 1960 and taking an apartment above her father's practice to compose. Her experimental work for percussion, piano, and harp, Homunculus C.F. was published in 1960. Throughout the 1960s, she organized tours and concerts for the U.S. Information Service. By the end of the decade her works had garnered wide appreciation and were being performed by orchestras like the New York Philharmonic. Unfortunately, in 1970 she had the first of a series of strokes that left her paralyzed on her right side. She taught herself how to write with her left hand, and despite her deteriorating health, she continued to compose until her death in 1979.
Listen
"A Short Piece for Orchestra," performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Karina Canellakis (2018)
"Homunculus C.F." performed by the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble, directed by Paul Price
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