Goodwin, Jack, 1920-1991,

American composer. Attended Mills College, Columbia University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and earned a degree from San Francisoco State College (now university). His teachers include Darius Milhaud and Roger Sessions. He received the Phelan Award for his 3-act opera The pizza pusher. Although Goodwin was an active composer throughout his life, he supported himself by working in California's Employment Development Department.

From the description of Jack Goodwin Papers, 1940-1991. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122396527

Biography

John (Jack) Francis Goodwin (1920-1991), composer, was born in San Francisco and lived there most of his life. He studied with Darius Milhaud and Roger Sessions. He was a graduate of San Francisco State College (now University), and studied music at Mills College, Columbia University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

In 1955, Jack Goodwin received the James D. Phelan Award for his three-act opera The Pizza Pusher, a satire on the repression of pizza (read Marijuana). He was also the recipient of the Alice Ditson Fellowship at Columbia University for his oratorio based on Walt Whitman's poem, Leaves of Grass.

Although Goodwin wrote mostly vocal music, he did leave a substantial body of instrumental music, including two symphonies. His interest in drama went beyond the music medium; he wrote many plays and had a volume of his poems published.

Goodwin supported himself as an interviewer with California's Employment Development Department. He worked there for many years until his retirement in 1982. He died on April 16, 1991, after a long bout with cancer.

From the guide to the Jack Goodwin Papers, 1940-1991, (The Music Library)