John Barry Talley

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

John Barry Talley (born July 22, 1943) is a musical director at the United States Naval Academy.

Early life and education

Talley grew up on a farm near

choral conducting
.

Barry later attended the

Peabody Conservatory in 1967, he began a doctoral program, completing course and residency requirements by 1971. His Baltimore teachers included Leo Mueller (orchestral conducting), Norman Johnson, Gregg Smith, Ray Robinson, and Theodore Morrison (choral conducting). While in Baltimore, Barry also held a number of professional positions including organist/choirmaster of several churches and serving as conductor of an oratorio society, a German singing society, two music theatre troupes, and choral programs in three private schools—Bryn Mawr, Boy's Latin, and Garrison Forest
.

Career

In 1971 he accepted a staff position at the U.S. Naval Academy as assistant director of Musical Activities with responsibilities as organist-choirmaster, director of the academy's music theatre program, and Glee Club. The following year, Talley was promoted to Director of Musical Activities,[1] a position he held for thirty-six years until his retirement in 2006.[2]

The schedule of the Naval Academy was demanding, and work on a doctoral degree was suspended for a few years but in 1983, Barry received the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Peabody. His dissertation, Secular Music in Colonial Annapolis, 1745-56 [3] was received with such enthusiasm by the scholarly community that it was subsequently published in book form by the University of Illinois Press as part of their acclaimed series, Music in American Life.[4] Although the musical ensembles of the Naval Academy consumed the bulk of his time, Barry continued his involvement with colonial American music through lectures, performances, and restaging of historic musical events, from balls at the Maryland State House to ballad operas at St John's College, presentations for the Supreme Court Historical Society and the Library of Congress, Maryland 350 celebrations, US Constitution bicentennial events, and various symposiums concerned with eighteenth-century American Culture.[5][6]

Under Talley's direction, the Naval Academy Glee Club rose to a position of national prominence, appearing in many of America's concert halls including New York's

which?] on PBS
stations, and abroad on the US Armed Forces Network.

The Naval Academy music program grew substantially under Talley's guidance. New ensembles were created that reflected an expanding interest in music and the changing demographics of the school. These included a symphony orchestra, a pipe and drum corps, a gospel choir and a women's glee club. Additions to the program included an annual spring oratorio, expanding the choral repertoire to include major works for chorus and orchestra such as Requiems by

Columbus Symphony, and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.[12]

Barry was an ardent believer in the value of professional leadership for the academy's music program,[

weasel words] for the Drum & Bugle Corps, the Orchestra, Women's Glee Club and Gospel Choir, music theatre, full-time office staff, professional singers for its chapel program and a dedicated ticketing operation.[13]

Although primarily a conductor, Barry maintained a high level of keyboard skill,[citation needed] and was often heard playing the organ for Naval Academy chapel services and occasionally appearing as a concerto soloist with the Naval Academy Band.

Among his greatest contributions were the many musical arrangements he created for the choral groups at the academy; music for the chapel choirs, special arrangements for specific programs such as a program of

US House of Representatives before a joint session of congress and carried by all the major networks. The scope and range of these arrangements can be heard on the many recordings available of Naval Academy choruses, primarily produced by Richardson Recordings
.

He retired in December 2006.[14]

Barry continues to work actively as a musician, directing Annapolis Music Festivals,[15] working as an associate conductor with Encore Creativity's Chautauqua program[16] in western New York, serving as a choral clinician, and filling in from time to time as guest organist at local churches, including the Naval Academy Chapel.[citation needed]

Discography

  • Set Sail, 1991, Richardson Records, #70007.
  • Musical Traditions in Navy Blue and Gold, 1991, Richardson Recording #70017.
  • Eternal Father I, Richardson Records, 1991, #70001
  • Eternal Father II, Richardson Records, 1995, #70006
  • Eternal Father III, Richardson Records, 1996, #70021
  • A Capella, Richardson Records, 1995, #70020.
  • On Tour, Richardson Records, 2001, #70015.
  • On Tour II: San Francisco, U.S. Naval Academy, 2010, #606259.
  • Christmas Spirit, Richardson Records, 1992, #70002.
  • Annapolis Sounds, Vol. 1, Richardson Records, 2008, #70003
  • Annapolis Sounds, Vol. 2, Richardson Records, 2008, #70028.
  • Over the Hills and Far Away, Being a Collection of Music from 18th Century Annapolis, Albany Records, 1990.

References

  1. ^ Clark, Mavis. "The Naval Academy's Music Man". Oberlin College Alumni Magazine, Spring 1999. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  2. ^ Ebarb, Matthew A. "Glee Club Draws Crowd During Homecoming Concert". Trident Newspaper, October 19, 2006. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "Maryland History and Cultural Bibliography". University of Maryland. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  4. ISBN 9780252014024
    .
  5. ^ "A History of Music in Annapolis". St John's College News, September 30, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  6. ^ Papers presented at the Maryland Historical Society during the annual conference of the Sonneck Society, March 23, 1980. Johns Hopkins University Library. 1980. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "The US Naval Academy Glee Club with musical director Dr. John Talley rehearse for TNT's "Christmas in Washington" Concert to air Sunday, December 14 at 8pm ET/PT, live from the National Building Museum in Washington DC". MSN Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  8. ^ Walker, Craig. "Blue & Gold" (PDF). Yard Tales, Spring 2007, p. 18, 20. Retrieved March 25, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Messiah Halleluia Chorus: Dr. John Barry Talley's final time conducting after 35 years at the Naval Academy, December 10, 2006". YouTube.
  10. ^ "Dr John Barry Talley to Conduct Spring Oratorio" (PDF). Peabody News, Fall, 2003, p. 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  11. ^ Greenfield, Phil (March 31, 2005). "Electrifying Requiem to Cap Series". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  12. ^ Thorn, Martha (February 11, 2005). "Star Power". Trident. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  13. ^ Thorn, Martha (October 18, 2001). "Behind the music". Trident. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  14. ^ "Passing the Baton". Annapolis Capital, December 9, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  15. ^ "Tri-M Honor Society Inducted New Members for 2008-09". DeMatha Catholic High School, November 12, 2008. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  16. ^ "New Programs Help Set Record at Chautauqua". Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Barry_Talley&oldid=1211338688"