Harriet Bolz

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Harriet Bolz
A smiling white woman of about sixty years, with short dark hair in a set style
Harriet Bolz, from a 1969 newspaper
Born
Harriet Seymour Hallock

November 24, 1909
Columbus, Ohio
DiedMarch 9, 1995 (aged 87)
Columbus, Ohio
Other namesHarriett Bolz, Harriett Hallock Bolz
OccupationComposer

Harriet Seymour Hallock Bolz (November 24, 1909 – March 9, 1995) was an American composer based in Ohio.

Early life and education[edit]

Harriet Seymour Hallock was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Roscoe Scott Hallock and Anna Druzilla Griffith Hallock. Both of her parents were also born in Ohio. Her father was a physician. She graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music,[1] and earned a bachelor's degree from Case Western Reserve University. She completed a master's degree in composition at Ohio State University. She studied with Paul Creston and Leo Sowerby.[2]

Career[edit]

Bolz composed secular and church music. In 1974 her Sweet Jesus was awarded first prize in a choral competition sponsored by the National League of American Pen Women.[2] She was active in the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs.[3] In 1965 she was recognized by the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) as winner of an adult non-professional composition competition.[4][5] A piano quartet by Bolz had its premiere performance at an NFMC convention in 1983.[4]

Bolz's work is mostly performed on programs of music by women composers, including a 1969 concert of works by Ohio women,[6] and a 1986 harp recital at the University of Iowa.[7] After a 1985 concert at Georgia State University, a reviewer described her Floret, a short piece for piano, as "witty, brilliantly pianistic."[8] She attended a 1992 concert at the Lancaster Festival composers' symposium, saying "I'm always happy to have things performed. That's how you learn."[9]

Since her death, works by Bolz continue to appear on concert programs, including a 1997 program at George Washington University;[10] a 2004 concert in Fort Lauderdale;[11] and a 2015 workshop by the Chamber Musicians of Northern California.[12]

Compositions[edit]

Many of Bolz's works were published by Hildegard Publishing,[13] Arsis Press, Sam Fox Publishing, Choral Arts Publications, Beckenhorst Press, and Harold Branch Publishing.[2]

  • Floret: A Mood Caprice for Piano
  • Two Profiles for Piano
  • "Cradle Song" (1943, a setting for a William Blake poem)[14]
  • Carol of the Flowers (1967, for choir)
  • Pageant Prelude (1969)[15]
  • Lyric Designs for Orchestra (1970s)[9]
  • Capitol Pageant for Piano Duet
  • Narrative Impromptu for Harp[16]
  • Repartee Rhapsodic (for flute and harp)[16]
  • Polychrome Patterns (1984, a sonatina for clarinet and piano)[17]
  • Episode for Organ: Autumn Joy
  • Episode Prismatic for Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone and Piano[18]
  • Sonic Essay and Fugue for Organ (1981)[19]
  • Festive Fantasia (1995, for clarinet, bassoon, and French horn)
  • How Shall We Speak?
  • Sweet Jesus
  • Ricochet
  • Such Be the Thought

Personal life[edit]

In 1937, Hallock married Harold August Bolz, an engineering professor at Ohio State University. They had three sons, William, Everett, and Eric.[20] She died in 1995, at the age of 85, in Columbus.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Colby lecture/recital". Morning Sentinel. 1984-02-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Harriet Bolz". Arsis Press. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  3. ^ "Prizes total $400 in state composers contest". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1982-12-14. p. 48. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "NFMC Convention Held". The Times Recorder. 1983-05-21. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Federation of Music Clubs Holds Convention in Dayton". The Tribune. 1965-05-17. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Music by Ohio Women Featured by Club". The Daily Reporter. 1969-02-12. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "U of I events". The Gazette. 1986-10-31. p. 44. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Henry, Derrick (1985-05-14). "Women Composers Worthy of Special Night". The Atlanta Journal. p. 36. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Prosch, Susan L. (1992-07-27). "Composers' audience gets inside view of music". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Reinthaler, Joan. "At GWU, a Hearing for American Women Composers" The Washington Post (September 17, 1997).
  11. ^ "Women composers concert". The Miami Herald. 2004-02-26. p. 744. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Kjemtrup, Inge (2016-03-29). "Innovative Chamber-Music Workshop Celebrates Female Composers". Strings Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  13. ^ "Festive Fantasia – Harriett Bolz - Hildegard Publishing Company". 2023-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  14. ^ Fitch, Donald (2023-11-15). Blake Set to Music: A Bibliography of Musical Settings of the Poems and Prose of William Blake. Univ of California Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-520-31337-8.
  15. ^ "Event Features Local Composer". Columbus Evening Dispatch. 1969-02-10. p. 32. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b "Jeanne Norton". Wittenberg University. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  17. ^ Bolz, Harriett (1984). "Polychrome patterns (audiocassette)". OCLC. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  18. ^ "Making the world safe for sax". Tallahassee Democrat. 1992-03-13. p. 61. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Coffee Concert". Sidney Daily News. 1981-04-03. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Bolz Hall | Buckeye Stroll". Retrieved 2024-01-11.

External links[edit]

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