European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

John Duffy 1926-2015

Dec. 22, 2015

John Duffy 1926-2015

It is with great sadness that the Schott Music group of worldwide companies notes the passing of John Duffy, a beloved and prolific composer who dedicated his life to the development and support of new American music. Born in 1926 in New York, Duffy composed more than 300 works for symphony orchestra, theater, television and film, as well as founding several landmark arts organizations including Meet the Composer and the John Duffy Composers Institute at the Virginia Arts Festival. He was 89.

John Duffy grew up in the Bronx, one of fourteen children of Irish immigrant parents. When he was still a young man, composition studies with Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Luigi Dallapiccola, Solomon Rosowsky and Herbert Zipper proceeded concurrently with his career and early successes in theater. Duffy’s profound regard for language, its beauties and its powers, suited him ideally for his work in the theater, television and film. He acquired a reputation early on as a first-class interpreter of ideas and emotion, a brilliant orchestrator and a sensitive colleague. Duffy has composed distinguished concert music for a variety of commissions, including the award-winning score for the nine-hour PBS documentary, narrated by Abba Eban, Heritage: Civilization and the Jews. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune called the music “haunting, memorable and brilliant.” His music has earned many awards including two Emmys, an ASCAP award for special recognition in film and television music, a New York State Governor’s Art Award and the (New York City) Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture.

As founder and president of Meet the Composer, John Duffy initiated countless landmark programs to advance American music and to aid American composers. In 2011, Meet the Composer completed a merger with the American Music Center marking the inception of the current day organization New Music USA. 2005 marked the inauguration of the John Duffy Composers Institute, founded by the Virginia Arts Festival. The Institute is dedicated to the inspiration, creation, performance and recording of new music by living composers. Professional Master Composers and developing Composer Fellows collaborate through workshops, lecture-demonstrations, concerts, recordings, and interactions with resident dance and theatre companies. In 2010, Albany records released a new recording of Duffy’s We Want Mark Twain for string quartet and narrator, Saxophone Concerto in memory of Stan Getz and Portraits for Orchestra. The album features performances by the Cassatt String Quartet, the Utah Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

News