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Composers Bureau Archives
Jean Berger
Dr. Jean Berger passed away in May of 2002.
Biography
- Studied musicology at Universities of Heidelberg and Vienna. Ph.D. degree from Heidelberg University under Heinrich Besseler. Private studies in composition with Louis Aubert, Paris.
- 1933-1939: Paris. Concert tours throughout Europe and Near East as pianist and accompanist.
- 1939-1941: Rio de Janeiro.. Assistant conductor at Teatro Municipal, and on faculty of Conservatorlo Brasileiro de Musica. Concert tours throughout South America.
- Since 1941: In USA. Drafted in U.S. Army 1942. U.S. citizen since 1943.
- 1943-1946: Office of War Information, as producer of foreign language broadcasts, and USO Camp Shows in all theaters of war.
- 1946-1948: Arranger for CBS and NBC. Concert accompanist.
- 1948-1959: Faculty, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont.
- 1959-1961: Faculty, University of Illinois, Urbana Illinois.
- 1961-1966: Faculty, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
- 1968-1971: Faculty, Colorado Women's College, Denver, Colorado.
- 1970-Present: Visiting Professor at conservatories and universities presenting lectures and seminars on various aspects of American music. Tours have included: Cambridge University (1970), Glasgow University (1970), Holland (1970), Oxford University (1970), Germany (1971, 1974 and 1979), Brazil (1983), and Portugal (1984). May 1994, invited by Leipzig (Germany) University to conduct his stage work YIPHTAH AND HIS DAUGHTER.
Commissions
Fleet Street Choir - London; Westminster Choir; Illinois Wesleyan Concert Choir; Larry Adler (1st harmonica concerto ever written); Southern California Junior College Music Assocation; Pacific Lutheran University; University of Texas; Ohio Music Education Association; Linn Choir (Glasgow, Scotland); and many others.
Honors
- May 14, 1983, Denver, Colorado. By Mayoral Proclamation: "Jean Berger Day: Scholar, linguist, distinguished choral conductor, musicologist, and composer."
- January 14, 1964, Fort Worth, Texas. By Mayoral Proclamation: "Jean Berger Day: Scholar, linguist,, distinguished choral conductor, musicologist, and composer."
- Honorary DOCTOR OF MUSIC degree, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, 1969.
- Speaker at 9th Annual Conference of the Lutheran Society for Worship, Music and the Arts, 1966, at Annual Church Music Institute, Louisville, Kentucky, 1968.
- First Prize for choral work "Le Sang des Autres," Zurich, 1937.
- Frequent guest composer and conductor: Universities of Delaware, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Idaho, etc.
- Colorado Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, June 1985
- Honorary President, Linn Choir in Glasgow (Scotland) since 1989
Publications
Research on Concerted Choral music of Bologna, Italy, 1665-1750. Editions of published works include compositions by Giuseppe Torelli and Giacomo Perti; articles on this field of music history in The Musical Quarterly, Journal of the American Musicological Society, etc.
Performances
- "Skelton Poems," Classic Chorale, Denver, 1969
- "Magnificat," Heinrich Schutz Festival, Breda, Holland, July, 1970
- "The Pied Piper," a Play with music, Cleveland, Ohio, January, 1970
- "Songs of Sadness and Gladness," Illinois State University Madrigal Singers, May, 1971
- "Birds of a Feather," an Entertainment in One Act, University of Texas at Austin, May, 1971
- "Magnificat," Tour program, St. Olaf Choir, 1984
- many complete programs of works by Jean Berger, domestic and abroad, and including works for chorus, solo voice, and orchestra.
Compositions
Contact Information
E-mail: jberger@sbcglobal.net
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