Joyce Barthelson
Joyce Barthelson | |
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| Born | May 18, 1900  Yakima |
| Died | December 1986 (aged 85–86) Scarsdale |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Composer, pianist, educator |
Helen Joyce Holloway Barthelson Steigman (May 18, 1900 – December 1986) was an American composer who created five operas and numerous shorter pieces. She co-founded the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, New York.
Life and career[edit]
Joyce Barthelson was born Helen Joyce Holloway in Yakima, Washington.[1] She graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1918.[2] She studied music at the University of California, Berkeley under Julius Gold, Otto Cesana, Roy Harris, and Nicolas Flagello.[1][3]
In high school, she formed a chamber music group, the Arion Trio, with two classmates. She played piano and the others cello and violin. In the 1920s and 30s they were regularly heard (with some lineup changes) on San Francisco-area radio. They were first heard on KLX in 1924, then moved on to KGO and the NBC Pacific Coast Network. Barthelson also played piano on the network's General Independents Program.[4][5][6]
In the late 1930s and early 1940s she was assistant conductor of the New York Women's Symphony Orchestra and composer in residence at Western Maryland College.[1][3]
In 1944, she founded the Hoff-Barthelson Music School with Virginia Hoff. The school is still in operation.[7]
Operas[edit]
- Chanticleer (1967), based on "The Nun's Priest's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer, won first prize in a nationwide opera contest held by the National Federation of Music Clubs. [3][8]
- Feathertop (1968), a two-act opera with a libretto by Barthelson based on the 1846 short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.[9]
- Greenwich Village, 1910 (1969), a one-act opera based on the 1905 short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, premiered at Scarsdale Junior High School.[8]
- The King's Breakfast (1973), a one-act opera based on a work by Maurice Baring about a breakfast quarrel between King Henry VIII and his sixth wife Catherine Parr.[10]
- The Devil's Disciple (1977), a two-act opera with a libretto by Barthelson based on the 1897 play by George Bernard Shaw. It premiered at the Highlands School in White Plains, New York, directed by Antonia Brico, Barthelson's high school classmate.[11]
Personal life[edit]
She married Harold Charles Barthelson on December 23, 1921.[12] She later married Benjamin Steigman, author and principal of the New York City High School of Music & Art.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c ASCAP Biographical Dictionary (4th ed.). New York: Jaques Cattell Press, R. R. Bowker for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. 1980. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-8352-1283-0 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Joyce (Holloway) Barthelson '18". Oakland Tech Centennial. 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers (2nd ed.). New York: Books & Music (USA). p. 58. ISBN 978-0-9617485-2-4 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Sies, Luther F. (2000). Encyclopedia of American radio, 1920–1960. Internet Archive. Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0452-0.
- ^ "The Arion Trio, 1916–1919". Oakland Tech Centennial. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ "Voices Out Of The Fog: The Arion Trio". Bay Area Radio Museum. 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ "History and Mission". Hoff-Barthelson Music School. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ a b "Barthelson Opera Debut". Scarsdale Inquirer. November 27, 1969. p. 14.
- ^ Griffel, Margaret Ross (2012-12-21). Operas in English: A Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8325-3.
- ^ Horowitz, Joseph (December 4, 1978). "Opera: 3 One-Acters at Hunter". The New York Times. p. C18.
- ^ Sherman, Robert (November 4, 1977). "Devil's Disciple Set to Music". The New York Times. p. 79.
- ^ "Secret Wedding Told At Nuptials of Bride's Sister". Oakland Tribune. December 25, 1921. p. 2-B.
- ^ "Benjamin Steigman, Principal Of Music and Art, 1937-59 , Dies". The New York Times. 1974-07-22. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
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