Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is a work for voice and orchestra by what American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music, who is one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century?
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24, is a 1947 work for voice and orchestra by Samuel Barber, with text from a 1938 short prose piece by James Agee. The work was commissioned by soprano Eleanor Steber, who premiered it in 1948 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky. Although the piece is traditionally sung by a soprano, it may also be sung by tenor. The text is in the persona of a male child.
William Presser William Henry Presser (19 April 1916, Saginaw, Michigan – 20 August 2004, Lafayette, Louisiana) was a prominent American composer, violinist, and a publisher of American chamber music particularly for brass and woodwinds. Both as a composer and a publisher, he pioneered repertoire for unfamiliar instruments and combinations, such as duets for oboe with trombone, and concert recital works for instruments such as baritone saxophone and alto clarinet. He earned degrees in violin and theory from Alma College, University of Michigan, and the Eastman School of Music. His teachers included Roy Harris, Gardner Read, Bernard Rogers, Burrill Phillips, and Pierre Monteux.