Jeffrey Wright, Ph.D. 2010

Advisor: Jocelyn Neal

Dissertation Title: The Enlisted Composer: Samuel Barber’s Career, 1942-1945

Find it in the library here.

Dissertation Abstract:

Throughout the 1920s and 30s Samuel Barber emerged as one of America’s premiere composers. In 1942, however, the trajectory of his flourishing career was thrown into question by America’s entrance into World War II and the composer’s subsequent drafting into service. Barber was deemed unfit for active service, assigned clerical work, and forbidden to compose during work hours. Fueled by his passion for his craft and a desire to help the American war effort through his compositions, Barber scraped together the time to compose a march for military use—a work that gained great popularity with his fellow soldiers. This popularity led to a series of commissions from the US government, including his Second Symphony and Capricorn Concerto. The composer quickly found himself confronted with the conflict between writing music for the war effort and writing music strictly as artistic expression, a personal conflict with which he would be in constant negotiation until the end of the war and his discharge form the Air Force in 1945. 

In my dissertation I examine Barber’s musical compositions during his tenure in the Army Air Corps and later with the Office of War Information. I use these works as a lens through which to explore the composer’s life, musical identity, and career development during a time when his rising popularity was threatened by one of the largest global conflicts of the twentieth century. This study further illuminates the clash between personal identities and nationalist ideologies in art of this period, and investigates the complex intersections between nationalism, propaganda, identity, and musical heritage. 

Dr. Wright is an Associate Professor of Music at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he also serves as Department Head of Music and Performing Arts. He previously worked at Indiana University South Bend. His research focuses on American music in the 20th century, and in particular on Samuel Barber, the subject of his dissertation. He also works on music history pedagogy, and is currently Chair of the Pedagogy Interest Group for the Society for American Music.