Alice Tully
Encyclopedia
Alice Tully was born in Corning
Corning (city), New York
Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.- Overview :The city of...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She spent her high school years at the famous Westover School
Westover School
The Westover School, often referred to simply as "Westover," is an independent college-preparatory day and boarding school for girls. Located in Middlebury, Connecticut, USA, the school offers grades 9-12...
in Middlebury, Connecticut
Middlebury, Connecticut
Middlebury is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,451 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
. Tully began her career as a mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
, then became a soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. She studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and made her debut in 1927 with the Pasdeloup Orchestra
Pasdeloup Orchestra
The Pasdeloup Orchestra is the oldest symphony orchestra in France.-History:Founded in 1861 by Jules Pasdeloup with the name Concerts Populaires, it is the oldest orchestra still in existence in Paris...
. In 1933, she appeared in Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Upon her mother's death in 1958, Tully inherited the estate of her grandfather, Amory Houghton, Jr. (1837-1909), (son of Amory Houghton, Sr., founder of the Corning Glass Works), who on June 19, 1860, married Tully's grandmother Ellen Ann Bigelow (daughter of Alanson Bigelow and his Bigelow first cousin, once removed, Anne Rebecca Bangs.) During the rest of her life, Tully donated much of her income to arts institutions, often anonymously. Her cousin, Arthur Amory Houghton, Jr., one of the founders of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, suggested that she give money for a chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
hall, and in 1963 John D. Rockefeller III convinced her to allow it to be named Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
.
Tully chaired the board of directors of the New York Chamber Music Society, and served on the boards of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
and the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
.
In 1970, Tully was awarded the Handel Medallion
Handel Medallion
The Handel Medallion is an American award presented by the City of New York, New York. It is the city's highest award given to individuals for their contribution to the city's intellectual and cultural life.-Establishment:...
for her contributions to the cultural life of New York City. Her most famous commission was for Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
who composed Des canyons aux étoiles... which had its first performance in the Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
in 1974. In 1985, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
.
William Schuman
William Schuman
William Howard Schuman was an American composer and music administrator.-Life:Born in Manhattan in New York City to Samuel and Rachel Schuman, Schuman was named after the twenty-seventh U.S. president, William Howard Taft, although his family preferred to call him Bill...
, Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
and Riccardo Malipiero
Riccardo Malipiero
Riccardo Malipiero was an Italian composer, pianist, and music educator. He was awarded the gold medal by the city of Milan in 1977 and by the city of Varese in 1984....
dedicated works to her. She died in New York in 1993, aged 91.
Sources
- Fuller, A., Alice Tully: An Intimate Portrait, 1999, University of Illinois Press. (Excerpts available online at Google Books)
- Kozinn, A., 'Alice Tully Is Dead at 91; Lifelong Patron of the Arts', New York Times December 11, 1993. Available online
- 'Alice Tully - philanthropist - Obituary', Dance Magazine, March 1994. Available online via findarticles.com
- Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts