Hubert Klyne Headley was an American composer, pianist and organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

.

Early life & education

When Headley was six, his mother, an organist, moved the family to California. When he was ten years old, he was introduced to Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel

Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...

, whose music has a strong effect on him. He went to study music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1928. He continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music

Eastman School of Music

The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...

 of Howard Hanson

Howard Hanson

Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...

 and completed in 1937.

Career

Two years later, he started teaching at the University of Santa Barbara

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

 and remained there until 1954. During that period he has succeeded to Maurice Faulkner as conductor of the University of California Symphony Orchestra in Santa Barbara. During that period he became internationally renowned as a composer but also as a pianist, performing concerts in which he was conductor of his own works, for example in Paris, London, Budapest and Prague. After 1954 he moved to Seattle and began teaching at the Cornish School of Applied Arts.

Death & legacy

After a short period, he moved to Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 and remained there until his death. His music is today virtually unknown and many of his works are lost. In 2006, his music resurfaced by accident (see external link).

Robert Buckley, one of his students, known for arrangements for Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

 and Celine Dion

Celine Dion

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...

, and Stan MacDaniel joint responsibility for the recordings of his music in 2007.

In 2006, for the 100th anniversary of its birth, Russian State TV performed several of its compositions, including the "California Suite", conducted by Dmitry Yablonsky

Dmitry Yablonsky

Dmitry Yablonsky is a Russian classical cellist and conductor.- Biography and career :Yablonsky was born in Moscow in a musical family; his mother is the pianist Oxana Yablonskaya, and his father, Albert Zaionz, is principal oboist with the Moscow Radio and Television Orchestra...

, a conductor that is notably focusing on making forgotten or unknown music available to audience. It had led to CD publication by the Naxos

Naxos (record label)

Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...

 record label in a "American Classics" series.

Works for orchestra

• 1939 California Suite, for orchestra (composed for the inauguration of The Golden Gate Exposition in 1939 in San Francisco)
  1. Golden Gate
  2. Yosemite
  3. Fiesta
• 1941 Concerto No. 1 (Argentango), for piano and orchestra
• 1945 Concerto No. 2, for piano and orchestra
• 1946 Symphony No. 1 (for Radio), for orchestra
• 1950 Symphony No. 2 Prelude to a Man, for soprano, alto, tenor, bass solo, mixed chorus, speaking chorus, orchestra and ballet (also known as: Prelude to Man, a symphonic cycle in four parts) - text: Chard Powers Smith

Operas

• 1946 Noche Serena (Opera)
• 1961-1962 The darkened city, opera in 3 acts - libretto: Robert Glynn Kelly

Chamber Music

• 1954 Sonate, for cello and piano
• 1954 Sonata Ibérica, for cello and piano
• 1957 Quintet in two parts, for piano, strings and clarinet
• Septet, for winds and strings

Sources

Stan McDaniel's Brief biographical description

• Publication Naxos
  Naxos (record label)
  Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
  
  2008: Album description, Album review.