Dorothy James facts for kids
Dorothy James (born December 1, 1901 – died December 1, 1982) was an American music teacher and composer. She created many different kinds of music. She also taught music to students for a long time.
About Dorothy James
Dorothy James was born in Chicago, Illinois. She loved music from a young age. She studied music at the Chicago Musical College. She also went to the American Conservatory. There, she learned about composing music from Louis Gruenberg. She also studied something called counterpoint with Adolph Weidig. Counterpoint is a way of combining different melodies together.
Dorothy continued her music studies at other famous schools. She learned from Howard Hanson at the Eastman School of Music. She also studied with Healey Willan in Toronto. Later, she learned from Ernst Krenek at the University of Michigan. She worked very hard to become a skilled musician.
After finishing her education, Dorothy James started teaching. In 1927, she began working at Eastern Michigan University. At that time, it was called Michigan State Normal College. She taught music there for many years. She retired in 1968. In 1971, the university honored her with a special doctorate degree. This showed how much they appreciated her work.
Her Music
Dorothy James wrote many different types of music. She composed pieces for a full orchestra. An orchestra is a large group of musicians playing many instruments. She also wrote music for smaller groups, called chamber ensembles. She created pieces for solo instruments and for singers.
Dorothy even wrote an opera. An opera is like a play where most of the words are sung. She also composed many songs. Here are some of her well-known works:
- Three Symphonic Fragments (1931) for orchestra
- Mutability (This piece used words by Percy Bysshe Shelley)
- Paola and Francesca (1930–1934) an opera
- The Jumblies (1935) (This piece used words by Edward Lear)
- Paul Bunyan (1938)
- Motif (1970)
- Patterns (1971)
Dorothy James made important contributions to music. She taught many students and created beautiful compositions.
