John Garvey (musician)
| John Garvey | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Charles Garvey |
| Born |
March 17, 1921 Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
| Died | July 18, 2006 (aged 85) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. |
| Genres | Chamber Music, Jazz, Russian Folk Music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, academic |
| Instruments | Viola |
| Years active | 1940s–1990s |
John Garvey (March 17, 1921 - July 18, 2006) was an American musician, orchestra leader, and academic who played viola in the Walden String Quartet for 23 seasons, introduced a jazz curriculum at the University of Illinois, and created its Jazz Big Band which he led until his retirement from the university in 1991. The jazz band dominated collegiate jazz festival awards in its early days and in 1969 was chosen by the state department to tour the USSR and Eastern Europe. Many members of Garvey's jazz bands went on to successful careers as professional musicians and academics.
Inspired by a talk given by the violinist of the Chautauqua Trio, Garvey began studying violin at age 7. By 14 he was commuting from his home in Reading, PA every other week to Temple University in Philadelphia to study violin with Alfred Lorenz, a violist with the Philadelphia Orchestra He went on to major in music at Temple.
After college Garvey played with the Philadelphia Symphony and Columbus Philharmonic. In March 1943, Garvey joined a dance band that played pop-styled classical music led by a classically trained violinist named Jan Savitt, "The Stokowski of Swing". In the summer of 1948 he was director of the summer chamber music program at Ball State University.
In 1948, Garvey joined the Walden String Quartet in an until-then frequently changing viola chair. He was to remain with the quartet until 1971. The group had recently become quartet-in-residence at the University of Illinois. In addition to touring and recording, the Quartet were members of the music faculty. Garvey was hired as Instructor in the department and within a few years was promoted to Assistant Professor. In May 1952, Garvey became head of the music committee of the university’s Festival of Contemporary Arts. In 1959, he was made a full professor.
Work with Harry Partch on "The Bewitched", a music and dance piece for the 1957 festival, rekindled Garvey's interest in jazz, and for the 1959 festival he invited the Modern Jazz Quartet to play with a student jazz band and a string ensemble.
Because of student interest in continuing the jazz band, Garvey sought funding from the School of Music, but faced strong opposition. By October 1960 he was able to get $150 from the school, and obtained additional money and administrative support from the student union.
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