John Laurence Seymour

John Laurence Seymour
Seymour (at piano) with vocalist John Teel in 1936
Born	(1893-01-18)January 18, 1893 Los Angeles, California
Died	February 1, 1986(1986-02-01) (aged 93)

John Laurence Seymour (January 18, 1893 in Los Angeles – February 1, 1986 in San Francisco) was an American composer and playwright. As a composer Seymour is best known for his operas, which have "complex orchestral textures and italianate lyricism."

John Laurence Seymour was born on January 18, 1893 in Los Angeles, California. His parents were John L. Symour and Rose Anna La Pointe. He grew up in Sacramento, California. He attended Polytechnic High. Seymour graduated form the University of California, Berkeley in 1917 with a degree in Letters and Sciences. While in school he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society. He also obtained a degree in Russian in 1919.

Seymour had a great interest in music. He played the violin. In 1922, he traveled to Europe. From 1923 to 1928, Seymour studied composition in Italy with Ildebrando Pizzetti and Felice Boghen. He also studied with Vincent d'Indy in France. In 1932, he traveled to Japan.

Seymour initially became a teacher, and was part of the faculty at Berkeley where he lectured mostly on opera and drama from 1928 to 1936. During this time, he also served as the head of the drama department at the Sacramento Junior College, a position he held until 1950. In 1940 he earned his PhD in English literature from Berkeley. His dissertation was called Drama and Libretto and was an adaptation of two of Shakespeare plays. That same year, he became a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He later became a librarian at Southern Utah College in Cedar City, Utah from 1969 to 1985.