Hannay, Roger

Roger Durham Hannay (1930-2006) was a composer, performer, and professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1966-1995.

From the description of Roger Hannay papers, 1890s-2006. WorldCat record id: 45106221

Roger Durham Hannay was born in Plattsburgh, N.Y., in 1930. He studied composition at Syracuse University, Boston University, and the Eastman School of Music. He received his Ph.D. from the Eastman School in 1956. In 1959, Hannay studied at the Berkshire Music Center with Lukas Foss and Aaron Copland. In 1966, after teaching at various colleges, Hannay was made head of the department of theory and composition in the Department of Music, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he served as professor of composition, 1966-1995, lecturing in theory and contemporary music. He was the founder and director of the New Music Ensemble, 1967-1982, as well as the chair of the Division of Fine Arts, 1979-1982.

Hannay created a diverse body of work. His orchestral compositions were read and performed by the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the New York Composers Theatre Orchestra, the Indiana University Symphony, and other groups. He was one of five composers chosen to represent North Carolina in the United States Bicentennial concert at the Kennedy Center.

Hannay's compositions fall into four distinct periods. His earliest works, 1952-1954, employ dissonant tonality and expand rapidly to an extensive use of the 12-note system. His music, 1955-1964, exhibits an individual alternation and mixture of serial techniques with free atonality and tonal elements. From 1966 to 1969, he was deeply involved with experimental electronic and percussion music with mixed-media theater works containing social and political comment. Beginning in 1970, Hannay's music reflected a new lyricism, often involving reinterpretations of music of the past.

Information in this note comes from the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 8 (1980), Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 7th Ed. (1984), and the collection.

From the guide to the Roger Hannay Papers, 1890-2006, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)