American composer, violinist and musicologist, most of whose songs were inspired by the “clear-voiced soprano” of his wife Helen (nee Strassburger). They were married in 1943 and performed and recorded new music, standard vocal works, and early music together for many years.
His compositions were initially sacred choral music, but later he added secular works for chorus and solo songs with piano or instruments, and instrumental works. The most notable of his instrumental works are the Quartet for clarinet and strings, which received an award from the Society for the Publication of American Music in 1962; the Symphony; and his Second String Quartet.
While in New Haven he served as conductor of the Yale University Orchestra from 1952 to 1960, and he was the concertmaster of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra from 1950 until 1962.
In 1964 he became the dean of the school of music at Syracuse University, and from 1971 he also served as a professor of music in composition and theory. At Syracuse, he transformed the music school, making it an important center for composition and the performance of new music by presenting festivals and establishing an electronic music studio.
A pioneering scholar of Charles Ives, he was elected to the board of directors of the Charles Ives Society in 1975. Indeed, he demonstrated an unusually wide breadth of erudition as a scholar, publishing writings on music theory, ethnomusicology, Charles Ives, and Paul Hindemith.
Howard Boatwright died in Syracuse, New York, on 20 February 1999 at age 80.
Link to Wikipedia biography