Goossen, Frederic

Jacob Frederic Goossen was born on 30 July 1927, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the only child of Jacob Frederic and Marcia Elizabeth Eldred Goossen. He attended public schools in St. Cloud and began the private study of piano at age 10; he composed his first musical work at age 12. He was educated at the University of Minnesota, completing a PhD in 1954 under Donald Ferguson (composition), James Aliferis (composition and theory), and William Lindsay (piano). He also studied privately with Arthur Shepard (composition) and Melville Smith (counterpoint) at the Longy School of Music, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He composed over 100 works in a variety of genres, many of which have been recorded by CRI, New World, and Opus One.

After teaching at University of Minnesota and Berea College (KY), where he met and married Shirley Reed, Goossen joined the faculty of the University of Alabama where he remained as Professor of Composition and Director of Graduate Studies until retiring as Professor Emeritus. For many years during his tenure at Alabama, Goossen wrote a weekly column on various aspects of the arts for the Tuscaloosa News and also served as the newspaper’s chief arts critic, writing reviews of concerts, recitals, plays, and art shows. Goossen served as Director of Graduate Studies in Music at the University of Alabama for more than 25 years on the faculty of music at Alabama until his retirement in 1996.

Goossen died on 10 June 2011.

From the guide to the Jacob Frederic Goossen papers MSS. 0579., 1940-1995, (University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama)