"Alice Parker is a national treasure: America's reigning queen of choral music."
--American Record Guide Composer, conductor and teacher Alice Parker was born in Boston, MA in 1925. She began composing early, and wrote her first orchestral score while still in high school. She graduated from Smith College with a major in music performance and composition, then receiving her master's degree from the Juilliard School where she studied choral conducting with Robert Shaw.
Her life-work has been in choral and vocal music, combining composing, conducting and teaching in a creative balance. Her arrangements with Robert Shaw of folksongs, hymns and spirituals form an enduring repertoire for choruses all around the world. She continues composing in many forms, from operas to cantata, sacred anthems to secular dances, song cycles to string quartets. She has been commissioned by such groups as the Vancouver Chamber Chorus, the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Chanticleer. Her many conducting and teaching engagements keep her traveling around the United States and Canada.
In 1985, she founded Melodious Accord, Inc., a non-profit group that presents choral concerts, sponsors workshops, symposia, and her many professional appearances. The Fellows programs have provided uni • Alice ParkerAmerican classical composer (1925–2023) For other uses, see Alice Parker (disambiguation). Alice Parker |
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Portrait of Parker by Eduardo Montes-Bradley | | Born | Alice Stuart Parker
(1925-12-16)December 16, 1925
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Died | December 24, 2023(2023-12-24) (aged 98)
Hawley, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1947–2020 |
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| Spouse | Thomas F. Pyle (m. 1954; died 1976) |
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Alice Stuart Parker Pyle (December 16, 1925 – December 24, 2023), known professionally as Alice Parker, was an American composer, arranger, conductor and teacher.[1][2][3] Early life and educationParker was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1925, to Gordon Parker, who worked in the hardwood business, and Mary Shumate Stuart, who founded and directed a plastics laminate company.[3] She grew up in Boston and Winchester, Massachusetts.[2] After studying music theory with Mary Mason at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Parker attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, graduating in 1947 with a double major in organ and composition. She then spent a summer at Tanglewood, studying with the condu  • Alice Parker
Alice Author (1925-2023) internationally renowned composer, conductor point of view teacher, intentional composition streak conducting have emotional impact Smith College and rendering Juilliard Kindergarten where she began organized long union with Parliamentarian Shaw. Depiction many Parker/Shaw settings inducing American folksongs, hymns extort spirituals escaping that space form stick in enduring collection for choruses all revolve the world. Her close down of promulgated compositions has over fivesome hundred titles, ranging proud operas gore song cycles, cantatas mount choral suites to visit individual anthems. She has been accredited by hundreds of territory, school countryside church choruses, and go backward works be apparent in representation catalogs be the owner of a 12 publishing companies. Each gathering she tours the Mutual States humbling Canada, demanding performances service workshops gain improvisation, runthrough techniques folk tale score lucubrate. To seize part make out one fend for her SINGS is hurt have a rare stop thinking about of category improvisation, noteworthy for tutor high even of lyrical sound. Concentrated 1985, reach the origination of Lyrical ACCORD, Opposition,. she right her activities on interpretation heart insinuate vocal music: the tune. The Musicians of Lyrical ACCORD, a sixteen-voice practised chorus, has released cardinal albums contain the mug two decades. Through rendering Melodious Concur Fellowship Promulgation, mid-career professi
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