Norman Dello Joio facts for kids
Norman Dello Joio (January 24, 1913 – July 24, 2008) was an American composer. He wrote music for over 50 years! He even won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for his music.
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Early Life and Musical Journey
Norman Dello Joio was born in New York City. His parents were immigrants from Italy. He started playing music very young. At just four years old, his father, Casimiro Dello Joio, taught him piano. His father was also an organist, pianist, and vocal coach. He even coached many opera singers from the famous Metropolitan Opera.
When Norman was 14, he became an organist and choir director. This was at the Star of the Sea Church in New York. Later, he studied organ with his godfather, Pietro Yon, who was the organist at Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
In 1939, Norman received a scholarship to the Juilliard School. This is a very famous music school! There, he studied how to compose music with Bernard Wagenaar.
Learning and Growing as a Composer
While studying, Norman worked as an organist. But he soon realized he wanted to focus on composing. In 1941, he began studying with Paul Hindemith. Hindemith encouraged Norman to follow his own musical style. He told him to create beautiful, flowing melodies instead of using complicated, non-melodic systems.
Norman Dello Joio received many awards and much praise for his work. He wrote a lot of music in different styles. He is especially known for his choral music, which is music written for choirs.
One of his most famous pieces for a wind ensemble (a group of wind instruments) is Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn. This piece has been played thousands of times all over the world! He also wrote several pieces for high school and professional string orchestras. One of these is a challenging piece called Choreography: Three Dances for String Orchestra.
In 1948, he started working with the famous dancer Martha Graham. He wrote several pieces for her dance company. These included Diversion of Angels and Seraphic Dialogue.
Major Awards and Achievements
Norman Dello Joio won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Music. He received it for his piece called Meditations on Ecclesiastes. This work was first performed at the Juilliard School in 1956.
His piece Variations, Chaconne and Finale won the New York Critics Circle Award in 1948. This was a big orchestral piece based on a theme from his Piano Sonata No. 3.
In 1965, Dello Joio won an Emmy Award! This was for the best music written for television. He won it for his score for the 1964 NBC television special The Louvre. He later created a five-movement suite for wind band from this music, called Scenes from The Louvre.
Teaching and Later Years
Norman Dello Joio also shared his knowledge by teaching. He taught at Sarah Lawrence College and the Mannes College of Music. He also worked as a professor and dean at Boston University's College of Fine Arts.
In 1978, he retired and moved to Long Island. He gave his personal collection of music papers and manuscripts to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Even in his final years, Norman Dello Joio kept composing music. He wrote chamber music (for small groups), choral music, and even orchestral music. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 24, 2008, at his home in East Hampton, New York. He was 95 years old.
Norman Dello Joio had three children. His daughter, Victoria Dello Joio, is a performer and teacher. His son, Justin Dello Joio, is also a composer. His other son, Norman Dello Joio, is an equestrian (someone who rides horses).
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Norman Dello Joio
