Joseph Willcox Jenkins
| Joseph Willcox Jenkins | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 15 February 1928 Wawa, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 31 January 2014 (aged 85) Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Education | Ph.D., Catholic University M.M., Eastman School of Music, 1951 B.M., Eastman School of Music, 1950 B.S., St. Joseph's College |
| Occupation | Composer, professor, conductor, musician |
| Employer | Duquesne University |
Joseph Willcox Jenkins (15 February 1928 – 31 January 2014) was an American composer, professor of music, and musician. During his military service in the Korean War, he became the first arranger for the United States Army Chorus. He ended his teaching career as Professor Emeritus at the Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University, where he had been a professor since 1961, and composed over 200 works.
By the age of six, Jenkins had already begun piano lessons; soon afterward, he started composing small pieces in elementary school. In high school, he wrote numerous arrangements as well as some original works for orchestra. In 1946, Jenkins began his tertiary studies at Saint Joseph's University (then St. Joseph's College) in Philadelphia, where he focused on pre-law with the ambition of becoming a lawyer. At the same time, he studied composition and counterpoint with Vincent Persichetti at the Philadelphia Conservatory (which became part of the University of the Arts in 1962). Jenkins completed his degree at St. Joseph's in three years and enrolled in the Eastman School of Music in 1949. While there, he studied under important composers including Thomas Canning, Howard Barlow, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson. Jenkins graduated from Eastman with a Masters of Music in 1951, in the middle of the Korean War. He was subsequently drafted into the Army and assigned to serve at Fort George G. Meade, in Maryland.
During his military service, Jenkins was the arranger for The United States Army Field Band as well as for the Armed Forces Radio Network. While with the Army Field Band, he composed his now famous American Overture for Band, Op. 13. A 50th anniversary version of American Overture for Band was published by J.W. Pepper in 2004, with collaboration between Jenkins and the publisher. The original score was updated to include revisions to the work's dynamics, articulations and pitches. American Overture became Jenkins' most successful work and he stated he would be "hard-pressed to duplicate its success."
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