Charles Bestor Papers, 1971-2002
General International Standard for Archival Description
Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Finding aid encoded in Note Tab Pro. Encoded by Eric S. Cartier. 2004-05-06
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Charles Bestor Papers
Creation of Charles Bestor Papers
Time of Creation of Charles Bestor Papers
2 boxes (1 half manuscript box, 1 flat oversize box)
Bestor, Charles
Biographical History for: Charles Bestor Papers
Biographical Note Charles Bestor, a native of New York City, received his musical training under Paul Hindemith at Yale University, Vincent Persichetti and Peter Mennin at the Juilliard School of Music and independently under the electronic music composer Vladimir Ussachevsky. He also holds degrees from Swarthmore College (Phi Beta Kappa) and the Universities of Illinois and Colorado. Bestor's early works were largely dodecophonic, with a strong grounding in Hindemithian counterpoint. The New York Times described his early Piano Sonata as "a dissonant, tightly organized working out of clear and dramatic motives; explosive and vigorous declamations with sweep and power." In his more recent music, much of it in the electronic medium, Bestor has increasingly explored the integration of jazz-derived, tonally-based harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements into the formal structures of conventional concert music. The Boston Globe spoke of his In Memoriam Bill Evans as "lush, urbane, shrewdly paced, neatly transferring some quality modern- jazz orchestration to a related and congenial symphonic territory," and the Salt Lake Tribune, writing of his earlier jazz-based orchestral work, "Until a Time", referred to its "searching treatment of melodic and percussive ideas; a witty piece, interspersed with bits of Stravinsky and Poulenc, but highly original in sound." Bestor has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Composer's Fellowship and was a winner in the 1999 Bourges (France) International Electro-Acoustic Music Competition. He was also the winner of the Main Prize in the 1996 Musica Nova International Competition of the Czech Republic and first prize winner in the Omaha Symphony's 1994 International Orchestral Competition. He has also received awards in the New England Philharmonic and Quinto Maganini Orchestra Competitions, New England Composers' Orchestra Competition, LGBA National Wind Competition, the David Lipscomb Prize and the Delius Prize for Instrumental Chamber Music, among others. His works have been commissioned by the Composers String Quartet, the Utah Symphony, the Salem Symphony and the Five-College Symphony Orchestras, the Utah Bicentennial Commission, the Peter Britt Festival, Phi Beta National Professional Fraternity and a number of individual performers. Bestor has collaborated, as a composer, with the sculptor Sherry Healy on the installation "Pathways from the Dream Spell Series" which was exhibited at the Chicago International Art Exposition at Navy Pier, the Illinois State Museum, the Michigan Art Park and the Chicago ARC Gallery. He also collaborated with the visual artist Barbara Cornett and the lighting designer John Wade on the installation "Cycles" , which was commissioned by the Maier Museum of American Art and has since toured extensively throughout the mid-Atlantic states. He has subsequently collaborated with Ms. Cornett and Mr. Wade on the installation "Into the Labyrinth", commissioned by the Fine Arts Center of the Virginia Museum in Lynchburg and "The Unfound Door", commissioned by the College Music Society, which has been widely seen and heard in its video and tape versions. For many years Bestor has pursued a parallel career as a teacher and administrator. He was for a decade on the faculty and administration of the Juilliard School of Music and subsequently served as Dean of the College of Music of Willamette University and as Head of the Music Departments of the Universities of Massachusetts, Utah and Alabama. He has also taught on the faculty of the University of Colorado and is presently Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic and Computer Music Studios of the University of Massachusetts. Bestor is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Ragdale Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Ireland. He is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World, the International Who's Who in Music, the Dictionary of International Biography, Joseph Machlis' Introduction to Contemporary Music and a number of professional who's whos. The above biographical sketch was taken from Charles Bestor's faculty web site found at http://www-vms.oit.umass.edu/~bestor/ Compositions1957"Lord Unto Thee"1962"Unto Thee Do I Lift Up My Soul"1963"Measure for Measure"1964Suite from Incidental Music to the Play "J.B."1968"A Wind in the Willows" (flute)1971"In Memoriam" to texts from "The Autobiography of Malcolm X"1972Poem for choir and synthesizer1972"Music for the Mountain" for orchestra1973Variations for violin & piano duo with synthesizer1976Concerto Grosso for percussion and orchestra1976Twelve Short Movements for string quartet & tape1976"Second Moon of Venus"1977Piano Sonata1977"Until a Time..." for antiphonal orchestras1979Lyric Variations for oboe and tape, with viola1979Suite for violin & piano1981Four Ostinati from the Edge of Time1981Overture to a Romantic Comedy for orchestra1983Suite for alto saxophone & percussion1984Three Portraits for wind octet1984Sonata for cello & piano1984Variations for orchestra1984Sort of Love Songs (French horn octet)1985"Make a Joyful Noise"1988"Stations of the Night", three blues for S (piano)1988"Monday's Child" (SATB or SSAA & synthesizer)1990"Of Times and Their Places", five songs (sop or mezzo & piano)1990Incantations and Dances (contrabass, electronic keyboards & computer)1990Four Love Songs (SATB & chamber orchestra or piano)1991Soliloquies (oboe & interactive electronics)1992Chaconne for Chamber Winds1992"Five Sketches for jazz piano"1993"Time's Arrow" (alto sax, horn & piano or synthesizer)1993"Conversations with Myself" (clarinet & interactive electronics)1993"In Memoriam Bill Evans" for orchestra1994"Three Ways of Looking at the Night" for orchestra1995"about Her" (clarinet & interactive electronics)1995"Into the Labyrinth"1998Fantasia Sacra et Profana1998Partita for solo clarinet1999"For Ann, in Autumn" (high voice & piano)1999Symphony No. 1: "Three Ways of Looking at the Night" for orchestra2000"In the Shell of the Ear"2000Andantino, Canon and Blues. Concerto Grosso for percussion and wind nonet2001Symphony for chamber winds: "The Long Goodbye"2002"Music for Gerry" (clarinet & interactive electronics)2002Kyrie for tenor and orchestra
This collection was donated by Charles Bestor in March-April 2004.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The papers of Charles Bestor consist mainly of scores and sound recordings for two of his compositions: Suite for Alto Saxophone and Percussion and In the Shell of the Ear. The collection, dating from 1971-2002, documents for one of these works the creative process of composing a musical piece from start to finish. In addition to the scores themselves, the collection also includes correspondence, concert programs, and reviews all relating to the publication and performance of the works. The collection is arranged into two series, including Suite for Alto Saxophone and Percussion, 1971-1994, and In the Shell of the Ear, 2000-2002.
Additions to the Collection Additions to the collection are expected.
The collection is open for research.
Processed by Danielle Kovacs, April 2004.
Composers-United States-History-Sources.
lcsh
Composition (Music)-History-Sources.
Music-Instruction and study-Massachusetts.
Music-Manuscripts-United States.
Musicians-United States-History-Sources.
Bestor, Charles.
lcnaf
Langland, Joseph.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst-Faculty.
aat
series
Series 1. Suite for Alto Saxophone and Percussion
Creation of Series 1. Suite for Alto Saxophone and Percussion
Time of Creation of Series 1. Suite for Alto Saxophone and Percussion
This series contains sketches, drafts, and revisions of the score; a sound recording of the score; correspondence; concert programs; program notes; and reviews. The correspondence includes letters concerning the publication and performance of the work. In particular the series includes letters to and from Ken Dorn of Dorn Publications, Inc., the publishing company that ultimately published the piece, as well as a copy of the publishing contract. Drafts of the score consist of early sketches and revisions of sections of the work. These drafts contain detailed notes and corrections that document the process of composing the piece, including some annotations that appear to be performance notes. Manuscript masters and the Ozalid masters show minor revisions that were made to the score right before its publication.
Series 2. In the Shell of the Ear
Creation of Series 2. In the Shell of the Ear
Time of Creation of Series 2. In the Shell of the Ear
This series contains a printed copy of the score, rehearsal and concert sound recordings of the score, a concert program and program notes, an autographed copy of Joseph Langland's book Twelve Poems with Preludes and Postludes, and correspondence. The correspondence includes a letter from Langland who wrote the poem "In the Shell of the Ear," from which the lyrics of Bestor's work are drawn.
Compact disc ca. 1983
Correspondence 1982-1989, 1994
Correspondence: Ken Dorn 1971, 1986-1987
Program notes 1989, n.d.
Programs
University of Massachusetts at Amherst Faculty Chamber Music Series (Amherst, Mass.) 1984 Apr 1
Twenty-First Annual American Society of University Composers Conference (Toronto, Canada) 1986 Mar 5-9
Delius Festival (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1986 Mar 6-8
York University Contemporary Ensemble 1986 Mar 6
Washington Composers Forum 1986 Sept 27
Contemporary Music Consortium Spring Concert (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1987 Apr 21
Bestorfest '89 (Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind.) 1989 Mar 28
Twentieth Century Chambers Players (University of North Carolina, Greensboro, N.C.) 1989 Dec 1
Faculty Recital (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass.) 1992 Mar 5
Kevin A. Towner Recital (Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio) 1994 Mar 5
Reviews 1986-1987
Score
Sketches ca. 1982-1983
Miscellaneous sketches ca. 1982-1983
Draft, with revisions and corrections
I. Prelude ca. 1982-1983
II. Chaconne ca. 1982-1983
III. Moto Perpetuo ca. 1982-1983
IV. Aubade ca. 1982-1983
V. Scherzo ca. 1982-1983
Final corrections
Full score 1983
III. Moto Perpetuo 1983
IV. Aubade 1983
V. Scherzo 1983
Manuscript masters
I. Prelude 1983 Jan 19
II. Chaconne 1983 Jan 19
III. Moto Perpetuo 1983 Jan 19
IV. Aubade 1983 Jan 19
V. Scherzo 1983 Jan 19
Ozalid masters 1983
Master sheets, with annotations [post-1986]
Printed score with part for the Marimba 1983, 1987
Book: Twelve Poems with Preludes and Postludes inscribed and signed by the author 2000
Clipping ca. 2001
Compact discs: rehearsal and concert recordings 2000 Nov 10-12
Correspondence 2000-2002
Poem: "In the Shell of the Ear" ca. 2000
Program and program notes 2000 Nov 12, n.d.
Score 2000