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Nancy Van de Vate
Nancy Jean Van de Vate (née Hayes; December 30, 1930 – July 29, 2023) was an American-born Austrian composer, violist and pianist. She also used the pseudonyms Helen Huntley and William Huntley. She is known for operas such as All Quiet on the Western Front, and orchestral music such as Chernobyl and Journeys, including concertos like the Kraków Concerto for percussion and orchestra.
Van de Vate taught at several universities in the United States and led composers' organizations such as the Southeastern Composers League and the International League of Women Composers. In 1985, she moved to Vienna, where she taught and founded a CD company for new orchestral music together with her husband.
Nancy Jean Hayes was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, on December 30, 1930. Raised in Warren Township, New Jersey, she graduated from North Plainfield High School in 1948. She studied piano on a scholarship at Eastman School of Music and music theory at Wellesley College. She completed graduate degrees in music composition at the University of Mississippi and Florida State University, where she earned a Ph.D. She pursued further studies in electronic music at Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire. The first professional performance of her work was in 1958 the Adagio for orchestra.
Van de Vate taught at Memphis State University from 1964 to 1966. She also played viola in the Knoxville Symphony, founded a chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in Tennessee, and directed the Southeastern Composers League. She taught at the University of Tennessee (1967), Knoxville College (1968–1969; 1971–1972) and Maryville College (1973–1974). She moved to Hawaii in 1975 where she first taught at the University of Hawaii, and from 1977 to 1980 at the Hawaii Loa College serving there also as Dean of Academic Affairs. She became influenced by Asian music; and moved to Indonesia in 1982 for three years.
In 1975, she founded the League of Women Composers and served as chairperson until 1982; it was renamed the International League of Women Composers in 1979, and was merged into the International Alliance for Women in Music in 1995.
She lived permanently in Vienna from 1985. In 1990 she founded a CD company together with her husband Clyde A. Smith, Vienna Modern Masters, dedicated to new music for orchestra; she directed it after her husband's death. She taught composition at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna (IES). In 2010, the IES named her Composer-in-Residence.
In 1952, Van de Vate married Dwight Van de Vate Jr. The couple had three children. They later divorced. She later married Clyde A. Smyth, who died of cancer in 1999.
Van de Vate died on July 29, 2023, at age 92, at home in Vienna.
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Nancy Van de Vate
Nancy Jean Van de Vate (née Hayes; December 30, 1930 – July 29, 2023) was an American-born Austrian composer, violist and pianist. She also used the pseudonyms Helen Huntley and William Huntley. She is known for operas such as All Quiet on the Western Front, and orchestral music such as Chernobyl and Journeys, including concertos like the Kraków Concerto for percussion and orchestra.
Van de Vate taught at several universities in the United States and led composers' organizations such as the Southeastern Composers League and the International League of Women Composers. In 1985, she moved to Vienna, where she taught and founded a CD company for new orchestral music together with her husband.
Nancy Jean Hayes was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, on December 30, 1930. Raised in Warren Township, New Jersey, she graduated from North Plainfield High School in 1948. She studied piano on a scholarship at Eastman School of Music and music theory at Wellesley College. She completed graduate degrees in music composition at the University of Mississippi and Florida State University, where she earned a Ph.D. She pursued further studies in electronic music at Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire. The first professional performance of her work was in 1958 the Adagio for orchestra.
Van de Vate taught at Memphis State University from 1964 to 1966. She also played viola in the Knoxville Symphony, founded a chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in Tennessee, and directed the Southeastern Composers League. She taught at the University of Tennessee (1967), Knoxville College (1968–1969; 1971–1972) and Maryville College (1973–1974). She moved to Hawaii in 1975 where she first taught at the University of Hawaii, and from 1977 to 1980 at the Hawaii Loa College serving there also as Dean of Academic Affairs. She became influenced by Asian music; and moved to Indonesia in 1982 for three years.
In 1975, she founded the League of Women Composers and served as chairperson until 1982; it was renamed the International League of Women Composers in 1979, and was merged into the International Alliance for Women in Music in 1995.
She lived permanently in Vienna from 1985. In 1990 she founded a CD company together with her husband Clyde A. Smith, Vienna Modern Masters, dedicated to new music for orchestra; she directed it after her husband's death. She taught composition at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna (IES). In 2010, the IES named her Composer-in-Residence.
In 1952, Van de Vate married Dwight Van de Vate Jr. The couple had three children. They later divorced. She later married Clyde A. Smyth, who died of cancer in 1999.
Van de Vate died on July 29, 2023, at age 92, at home in Vienna.