T. J. Anderson

Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Anderson (born August 17, 1928) is an African American composer, conductor, orchestrator and educator. He is well-known for his orchestration of the Scott Joplin opera, "Treemonisha".

Born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Anderson has written over 80 works ranging from operas and symphonies to choral pieces, chamber music, and band music. He has composed commissioned works for the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company and cellist Yo Yo Ma.

He holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Iowa in 1958, [ [http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/alumni/reunion2006/recipients/anderson.html University of Iowa: Alumni & Friends Reunion 2006] ] was composer in residence with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra from 1968 to 1971, and was Austin Fletcher Professor of Music Emeritus at Tufts University, a position from which he retired in 1990. [ [http://www.tufts.edu/as/music/program/emeritus.htm Emeritus Faculty - Tufts Department of Music] ]

In 2005, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. [ [http://www.bates.edu/x65989.xml Bates College: Citation for Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Anderson] ]

Anderson's son, Thomas J. Anderson, III (who also goes by "T.J."), is a poet and professor of English at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. The younger Anderson is married to Pauline Kaldas, a poet, author, and fellow English professor at Hollins University.

Notes

References

*Perkins Holly, Ellistine. "Biographies of Black Composers and Songwriters; A Supplementary Textbook". Iowa:Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1990.

External links

* [http://www2.blast.com/tjanderson/index.html T.J. Anderson's website]
* [http://www.bates.edu/x65943.xml Bates College: Thomas Jefferson Anderson]
* [http://dram.nyu.edu/dram/Composer/2961 Database of Recorded American Music: Anderson, T.J.]