Synopsis

Today marks the birthday of American composer, choral conductor and educator Betty Jackson King. She was born in Chicago in 1928, where she earned her master’s degree in composition at Roosevelt University. Her master’s thesis was an opera, Saul of Tarsus, whose libretto was written by her father, the Rev. Frederick D. Jackson.

King is perhaps best known for her sacred and choral works, especially her arrangements of spirituals, and, according to her family, her musical career reflected her deep religious faith. “Over my head, I hear music in the air, so there must be a God somewhere,” was her oft-stated creed.

King also wrote secular works, including a ballet for children, chamber works, art songs and solo pieces for piano and organ. She was an active teacher and choral conductor in her native Chicago before moving to Wildwood, New Jersey, where she taught, conducted and composed for the rest of her life.

A few years before King’s death in 1994, soprano Kathleen Battle performed and recorded "Ride-Up in the Chariot,” one of Jackson’s spiritual arrangements, at a televised Carnegie Hall concert of spirituals conducted by James Levine.

Music Played in Today's Program

Betty Jackson King (1928-1994): Spring Intermezzo, fr Four Seasonal Sketches; Helen Walker-King, vn; Gregory Walker, p. Leonard 339