Beeson, Jack

Beeson, Jack, 1921–, American composer, b. Muncie, Ind. Beeson studied at the Eastman School of Music and privately in New York with Béla Bartók. Beginning to teach at Columbia Univ. in 1945, he was named MacDowell Professor of Music in 1967; he retired in 1988 but returned as a member of the Society of Senior Scholars. Beeson has written songs and choral pieces, piano sonatas, chamber works, and various orchestral works including a symphony (1959). He is particularly known for his operas, which include Hello Out There! (1954), The Sweet Bye and Bye (1957), Lizzie Borden (premiered by the New York City Opera in 1965), My Heart's in the Highlands (premiered on television in 1970), Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1975), Dr. Heidegger's Fountain of Youth (1978), Cyrano (1991), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1999). His vocal works, set to a catholic choice of texts, are marked by a varied stylistic approach unified by attention to contrapuntal lines and instrumental color.