Henry, Otto, 1933-

Otto Henry was born in Reno, Nevada in 1933 and was raised in Swananoa, North Carolina. He joined the United States Army in 1954 and played French Horn in the Army band while stationed in Governor's Island, New York City and Panama. After leaving the service, he earned BM and AM degrees in composition from Boston University. He then enrolled at Tulane University, established the Newcomb College Electronic Music Studio, and earned a Ph.D in 1970, writing one of the first dissertations on electronic music. He chaired the Department of Music at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania from 1961 to 1965. He joined the School of Music at East Carolina University in 1968 and started programs in electronic music composition and ethnomusicology and established the school's Recording and Electronic Music Studio, which contained the revolutionary MOOG synthesizer. Dr. Henry has composed numerous choral and electronic pieces and won the Hilda Honigan Composer's Cup in 1977 for his piece "Sanctus." After retiring from East Carolina University in 1998, he played French Horn with and composed music for the Pitt Community College Symphony Orchestra, the Tar River Band, and The Beaufort County Community Symphony.