John Ness Beck was a composer and arranger of choral

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 music. He was best known for his very popular and accessible settings of traditional Sacred music. Beck was a conductor and arranger of international renown. His works are highly celebrated and performed by high school, college, church, community, and professional choirs across the globe today.

Biography

John Ness Beck was born in Warren, Ohio

Warren, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...

. After graduating from Warren G. Harding High School in 1948, he enrolled at The Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. In 1952 he graduated from Ohio State with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in English. After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the U.S. Army. During this time, he became increasingly involved in arranging for various musical groups. After his discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in music with composition as his major.

Mr. Beck was a faculty member of The Ohio State University School of Music for seven years, teaching harmony and theory. He left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. In this capacity, he was able to observe the business side of the music industry, gaining insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising. As his compositions found their way into print and popularity, he joined forces in 1972 with John Tatgenhorst in the creation of Beckenhorst Press. His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various musical clinics and festivals throughout the country. He remained active in the field until his death from cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 in 1987.

John Ness Beck Foundation

Mr. Beck established the John Ness Beck Foundation in 1987, only a few months before his death. The Foundation was established in memory of Randall Thompson

Randall Thompson

Randall Thompson was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works.-Career:He attended Harvard University, became assistant professor of music and choir director at Wellesley College, and received a doctorate in music from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music...

 and Joseph W. Clokey

Joseph W. Clokey

Joseph Waddell Clokey was an educator, organist and composer of sacred and secular music in the first half of the 20th Century....

. It recognizes outstanding achievement in choral composition and arrangement of traditional church music, enhances and furthers the careers, study, education and experience of promising composers and arrangers, and promotes and stimulates the learning of choral composition and traditional church music.

The stated goal of the foundation is to encourage and promote the writing of traditional sacred music. The Foundation has sought to honor this goal in several ways. For several years, scholarships were awarded to students from the Westminster Choir College

Westminster Choir College

Westminster Choir College is a residential college of music, part of Rider University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.Westminster Choir College educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate levels for musical careers in music education, voice performance, piano...

 and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...

 who exhibited promise in the writing of sacred choral music. At present, the Foundation has embarked on a program which recognizes current composers of traditional sacred choral music by selecting two compositions yearly which best exemplify the type of writing that fit the criteria set forth by John Beck.

Arrangements

• Amazing Grace
  Amazing Grace
  "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
  
  
• America the Beautiful
  America the Beautiful
  "America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
  
  
• And in That Day
• And the Child Grew
• Anthem of Unity
• The Armor of God
• As the Rain
• Assurance
• Battle Cry of Freedom
• Benediction (God Be With You Til We Meet Again)
• Canticle of Praise
• Celebration
• A Child's Noel
• Christmas Carols and Codas
• --- Angels We Have Heard On High
  Angels We Have Heard on High
  "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
  
  
• --- The First Noel
  The First Noël
  The First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
  
  
• --- Good Christian Men, Rejoice
• --- Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
  “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, having been written by Charles Wesley. This is not the version widely known today. A sombre man, Wesley had requested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the...
  
  
• --- Joy to the World
  Joy to the World
  "Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
  
  
• --- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
  While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
  "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" is a Christmas carol describing the Annunciation to the Shepherds, with words attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and England's Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate....
  
  
• Christmas Welcome
• Consecration
• Contemporary Music for the Church Service
• Cry Aloud
• Devotion
• Divided Our Pathways
• Ease My Mind, Lord
• Easter Canticle
• The Easter Vigil of Mary Magdalene
• Every Perfect Gift
• Every Valley
• Exhortation
• Faith of Our Fathers
• Foundation
• Gethsemane
• Gloria
• The God of Abraham Praise
• God of Grace
• Have Ye Not Known?
• He Shall Feed His Flock
• Help Us Accept Each Other
• A Holy Festival
• A Hymn for Advent
• Hymn for Easter Day
• Hymn for Our Time
• Hymn of Courage
• Hymn of Fellowship
• Hymn to David
• Hymn to God the Father
• I Can Do All Things
• I Need Thee Every Hour
• If You Love Me
• In Heavenly Love
• In Memoriam
• Interpreted By Love
• It Is Well With My Soul
• A Joyful Noise
• Jubilant Canticle
• Jubilo, Jubilate
• The King of Love My Shepherd Is
• Kingsfold [I Feel the Winds of God Today]
• Let Us Break Bread Together
• Litany of Thanksgiving
• Look for a Sunrise
• Lord, Here Am I
• Lullaby
• The Name of Jesus
• A New Heart I Will Give You
• O Come, Let Us Sing
• O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
  O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
  O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing is a Christian hymn written by Charles Wesley. Charles Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns, many of which were subsequently reprinted, frequently with alterations, in hymnals, particularly those of Methodist Churches....
  
  
• O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
• Of the Father's Love Begotten
• Offertory
• Once in Royal David's City
  Once In Royal David's City
  Once In Royal David's City is a Christmas carol originally written as poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys' hymnbook Hymns for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music...
  
  
• Osanna
• Prayer to Jesus
• Psalm 24
  Psalm 24
  ' is the 24th Psalm from the Book of Psalms.-Judaism:*Is the psalm of the day in the Shir Shel Yom for Sunday.*On days other than Shabbat, is recited when returning the Torah Scroll to the ark.*Verse 1 is part of Mishnah Tamid 7:4....
  
  
• Psalm 46
  Psalm 46
  Psalm 46 is the 46th psalm from the Book of Psalms, composed by sons of Korah.-Uses:Portions of the psalm are used or referenced in several Jewish prayers. Verse 8 is the ninth verse of V'hu Rachum in Pesukei Dezimra, and is also a part of Uva Letzion. Verse 12 is part of Havdalah...
  
  
• Psalm 67
  Psalm 67
  Psalm 67 is part of the biblical Book of Psalms.-Anglican Church:It may be recited as a canticle in the Anglican liturgy of Evening Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer as an alternative to the Nunc dimittis, when it is referred to by its incipit as the Deus misereatur .The main hymn...
  
  
• Psalm 121
  Psalm 121
  Psalm 121 is the 121st psalm from the Book of Psalms. It is one of 15 psalms that begins with the words "A song of ascents" .-Judaism:*Is recited following Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol....
  
  
• The Quiet Heart
• Rejoice in the Lord Alway
• Rejoice, the Lord Is King
• The Shepherds
• Sing Unto Him
• Something
• Song of Exultation
• Song of Hope
• Song of Moses
• Song of the Apostle
• Speak to Me, Lord
• The Spirit Leads On and On
• A Spiritual Song
• Still, Still With Thee
• Strong Son of God, Immortal Love
• The Sunlit Hour
• Tenting Tonight
• Thanksgiving!
• There's a Song in the Air
• Thou Art God!
• Two Carols for Advent
• Upon This Rock
• Variants On an Irish Hymn
• Victory
• Visions of St. John
• We Gather Together
  We Gather Together
  "We Gather Together" is a Christian hymn of Dutch origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius as "Wilt Heden Nu Treden" to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout. It was originally set to a Dutch folk tune...
  
  
• When Morning Gilds the Skies
• Where Is the Child?
• Who Shall Separate Us?
• Ye Shall Go Out With Joy
• The Young Lions

External links

• John Ness Beck Foundation