(b. 19 May 1926, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania – d. 29 June 2021, St. Louis, Missouri).
American composer of mostly orchestral, chamber and choral works that have been performed in the Americas and elsewhere.
Prof. Wykes began studying flute at age 9. He later studied music theory at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned his MMus. He then studied composition with Burrill Phillips and music theory with Hubert Kessler at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1952–55 and there earned his DMA.
Among his honours were the Distinguished Faculty Award from Washington University in St. Louis (1976), an honourable mention for the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award (1980, for A Lyric Symphony), a stint at the Djerassi Artists Residency in Woodside, California (1989), and the National Flute Association Newly Published Music Award (1992, for Three Facets of Friendship: A Divertimento); in addition, he wrote the music for Robert Kennedy Remembered, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film (1968). He received commissions from conductor Eleazar de Carvalho, the National Endowment for the Arts, New Music Circle in St. Louis, the Paderewski Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, the Pro Arte Orchestra in New York, New York, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, flutists Jan Scott and Albert Tipton, Mark Twain Bank in St. Louis, and the University of Chicago. His music has been performed in Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and the USA.
He was also active in other positions. He played flute as a child and later served as a flutist in the Toledo Symphony Orchestra in Ohio from 1950–52, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1963–67 and the Studio for New Music in St. Louis from 1966–69.
He taught composition and music theory at Bowling Green State University in Ohio from 1950–52 and music theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1952–55. He then taught composition at Washington University in St. Louis from 1955–88, where he was a full professor from 1965–88, later emeritus. He subsequently undertook research as a visiting scholar at Stanford University in 1990–91.
His primary publisher is Fallen Leaf Press.
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
The Prankster (chamber opera in 1 act, libretto by the composer, after a traditional folk tale from the USA), soprano, baritone, piano, 1951
Music for Dance, piano 4 hands, 1954
ORCHESTRAL:
Divertimento for Chamber Orchestra, small orchestra, 1949
Sinfonia, 1949
Concertino for Piano and Band, piano, symphonic band, 1958
Density III, 1960
Concertino for Flute, Oboe, Piano, and Strings, flute, oboe, piano, string orchestra, 1963
Wave Forms and Pulses, 1964
Horizons for Small Orchestra, small orchestra, 1964
The Shape of Time, 1965
Locations, percussion, symphonic band, 1967
Resonances, 1971
Towards Time's Receding, 1972
A Shadow of Silence, 1972
Western Wyndes, symphonic band, 1974
Fanfare for Orchestra (Time of the West), 1976
A Lyric Symphony, 1980
Pairs: A Second Symphony, Part I, small orchestra (2 flutes, 2 trumpets, harp, piano, 2 percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass), 1981
Celebration Fanfare, small orchestra (13 brass, timpani, percussion), 2004
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Suite for Woodwinds, oboe, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 1949
Six Pieces for Six Players, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, 1950
Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1950
Seven Short Duets for Violins, 2 violins, 1953
Sonata for Flute and Piano, flute, piano, 1955, revised 1982
Concerto for Eleven Instruments, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, trombone, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 1956
Quintet for Piano and String Quartet, piano, string quartet, 1960
Transforms II, percussion, fixed media (2 tracks), 1962
Density IV, harp, 1968
Cheirality for String Quartet or Fantasy in a Time of War, string quartet, 1969
Fantasy for Solo Flute, flute, 1970
A Winter Song, trombone, 1976
Duo for Violin and Harp, harp, violin, 1982
For Cello, cello, 1982, revised 1988
Three Concert Etudes for Solo Flute, flute, 1989
In Memoriam Oliver Nelson, flute, piano, 1990
Three Facets of Friendship: A Divertimento, flute, clarinet, 1991
Nine Miniatures (Three Sets of Three), violin, cello, piano, 1993
Flourishes and Hymn, 4 trombones, 2001
Colors of Coastal Maine, 4 trumpets, 2002
Four Portraits, 4 flutes, 2003
Three Farewells, violin, 2006
Duo, flute, mandolin, 2008
CHORAL:
Ceremony after a Fire-Raid (text by Dylan Thomas), mixed chorus, orchestra, 1955
Letter to the Night (text by Lloyd Frankenberg), mixed chorus, piano, 1956
Four American Indian Lyrics (texts from a Yokuts poem [translated by Mary Hunter Austin], Chippewa poems [translated by Alice Corbin Henderson]), mixed chorus, 1958
Excerpendum (text from syllables), 16 mixed voices, 4 French horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 1958
Therefore Now Let it Please Thee (text from the Bible), mixed chorus, organ, 1971
Adequate Earth (text by Donald Finkel), baritone, 2 speakers, 3 mixed choruses, orchestra, 1975
Three Choral Miniatures (texts from Chippewa poems [translated by Gerald Vizenor], the composer, after Chippewa poems), mixed chorus, 1992
For You Shall Go Out with Joy (text from the Bible), female chorus, 2 trumpets, harp, organ, 1992
Three Winter Carols (text by the composer), children's chorus, 2012
VOCAL:
Suite for Soprano and Three Woodwinds (text by Lloyd Frankenberg), soprano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1961
Now Haue Gud Day (text from an anonymous mediaeval poem), alto, tenor, recorder, portative organ, 1961
Letter to an Alto-Man (text by Donald Finkel), speaker, flute, piano, harp, percussion, 1967 (also version for speaker, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1967)
The White-tailed Kite (text by the composer), soprano, piano, 1993
Lake Music (text by the composer), speaker, alto flute/bass flute, 2003
PIANO:
Four Studies, 1958
Fantasy No. 2, 1974
One More than Two Miniatures, 1992 (contribution to anthology Various Leaves)
ORGAN:
Transforms I, 1961
FILM SCORES (DIRECTOR):
Time of the West, 1964 (Richard T. Heffron)
Children Without, 1965 (Charles Guggenheim)
Monument to the Dream, 1967 (Charles Guggenheim)
Robert Kennedy Remembered, 1968 (Charles Guggenheim)
The Journey of Lyndon Johnson, 1974 (Charles Guggenheim)
MoPac Delivers, 1975 (William Schwartz)
The Eye of Jefferson, 1977 (Werner Schumann)
John F. Kennedy: 1917–1963, 1979 (Charles Guggenheim)
Water: The Source of Life, 1984 (Werner Schumann)
The Making of Liberty, 1986 (Charles Guggenheim)