Robert Houston Bright (January 21, 1916 – December 8, 1970) was a composer of American music, known primarily for his choral works. The best-known of these is an original spiritual "I Hear a Voice A-Prayin'," but he wrote dozens of highly regarded pieces over the course of his career, including a number of instrumental compositions. Bright was, among his peers, well known and respected as a composer, choral director, and professor. He spent his entire academic career in the Music Department of West Texas State College (now West Texas A&M University).
Life
Houston Bright was born January 21, 1916, in Midland, Texas.American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Third Edition (also called the "1966 edition"). Compiled and edited by the Lynn Farnol Group, Inc.; New York, N.Y., 1966; p. 78. He was the son of a Methodist minister, the Rev. John R. Bright. Houston learned to read music and play the piano while still a small boy;Amarillo Globe-Times; Amarillo, Texas; December 8, 1970. "Music Composer, Professor Dies at 54." he composed his first piece of music at the age of ten.The Canyon News; Canyon, Texas; December 10, 1970. "Composer Dies." In his teens he studied voice, clarinet, and cornet, as well as piano. He attended high school in Shamrock, in the Texas Panhandle (although the 1938 West Texas yearbook, Le Mirage, shows his hometown to be Plainview). After graduating from high school in 1932, he attended West Texas State. He organized a dance band, the "Kampus Katz," in the 1935–1936 school year; the band played locally and also toured Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado during the following summer.
While a college student Houston also became known as a classical vocalist, singing baritone in solo recitals and as a soloist in college oratorio concerts; his brother, Weldon, sang tenor. (Weldon Bright, also musically gifted, went on to become a jazz pianist and organist, the leader of a regionally popular dance band,The Shamrock Texan; Shamrock, Texas; July 23, 1959; page 4. Photo caption: "Weldon Bright, Class of '37, brought his popular dance band from Amarillo to play..." and music director of Amarillo's KGNC radio station during the 1950s;The Shamrock Texan; Shamrock, Texas; July 18, 1957. "Weldon Bright, Music Director, Radio Station KGNC Amarillo." after leaving radio, he, too, turned to teaching music.)
Bright received his Bachelor of Science degree in music in 1938. Afterward he was the first student in his college to be designated as a "graduate assistant." He received his Master of Arts degree in music education in 1940 and took a full-time faculty appointment at that time. On June 5, 1941, he was wed to Frances May Usery, a West Texas State piano instructor whom he had met while he was still a student.The Shamrock Texan; Shamrock, Texas; June 9, 1941; page 8. "Society: Wedding of Canyon Couple Announced." (The composer's father officiated at the ceremony.) "Music brought us together," he later said. "She was my accompanist."Amarillo Sunday Globe-News; Amarillo, Texas; May 8, 1966. "Dr. Houston Bright Saluted on Silver Anniversary at WT," by Jean Ater, Amusements Editor.
During World War II, Bright served as an Army officer in Europe 1942–1945, leaving the service as a captain in the infantry to return to West Texas. Through summer study and a leave of absence, he completed his work for a Ph.D. degree in musicology in 1952 at the University of Southern California. There he studied conducting under Dr. Charles C. Hirt, musicology under visiting professor Curt Sachs, and composition under Austrian émigré composer Ernest Kanitz and American composer Halsey Stevens.Bouza, Katrina [University of Southern California], November 6, 2014. Throwback Thursday: USC Thornton Composition faculty, 1952. "Halsey Stevens, a professor of composition at USC Thornton for over 30 years, served as a mentor to USC Distinguished Professor Morten Lauridsen, current Composition chair Donald Crockett, Houston Bright, and other composers." Retrieved June 26, 2015. His dissertation was titled The Early Tudor Part-Song from Newarke to Cornyshe.
Beginning as an instructor, Bright rose to the rank of full professor; he taught composition and music theory, and directed the college's A Cappella Choir, which he founded in 1941. The various West Texas choirs (which included a larger Chorale and a women's choir, along with other, smaller ensembles) frequently toured the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and they premiered many of Bright's works. His earliest published compositions are the choral pieces "Weep You No More, Sad Fountains" and "Evening Song of the Weary," both dating from 1949.Plainview Daily Herald; Plainview, Texas; Friday, February 6, 2009. Back in Time, 02-06-2009, by Nicki Bruce Logan. "Feb. 6, 1949: Houston Bright, [who was the] director of the Plainview Methodist Church choir in 1937, signed contracts this week for the publication of two a cappella choruses." Retrieved June 27, 2015. In 1965, college president James P. Cornette, honoring Bright's twenty-five years of creative service to the college, granted him the title of Composer-in-Residence.
Throughout his three decades at West Texas, Bright was surrounded by, and worked with, considerable musical talent. Some of his early works (both choral and instrumental) were composed specifically with West Texas music ensembles in mind, and dedicated to them. Among his academic colleagues was Royal Brantley,West Texas A&M University (n.d.). Professor Emeritus Royal L. Brantley, WT Faculty Member 1953–1987. Retrieved July 16, 2015. the original musical director and eventual artistic director of the long-running outdoor musical drama Texas, performed each summer at nearby Palo Duro Canyon. Another colleague was band director Gary Garner, who was later honored by the Texas Bandmasters Association as 1987's "Bandmaster of the Year."Texas Bandmasters Association (n.d.). Bandmaster of the Year. The award is given for demonstrated "excellence in musicianship, leadership, and responsibility." Retrieved July 16, 2015.
Hugh Sanders, who served as Bright's assistant director for the West Texas choral program, subsequently succeeded him as its director;Texas Music Educators Association (n.d.). Hugh Sanders: TMEA President, 1968–1970. "After the death of Houston Bright, Dr. Sanders became the Director of Choral Activities. His choirs in the 1970s at West Texas State are legendary." Retrieved July 16, 2015. Sanders ultimately gained great acclaim as choral director at Baylor University. Bright also mentored the young choral teacher Alfred R. Skoog, who went on to serve as director of choral activities at Arkansas State University for over three decades.See, e.g., Skoog, Alfred (conductor); The ASU Singers. 1992. Houston Bright: Choral Music (compilation album). Jonesboro: Arkansas State University. OCLC Number: 848754359. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
In the decades following Bright's death in 1970, West Texas and the Texas A&M Board of Regents honored him as a Professor EmeritusWest Texas A&M University (n.d.). Professors Emeriti. "The Professor Emeritus title is bestowed on only a select few." Retrieved June 27, 2015.West Texas A&M University (n.d.). Professor Emeritus Inductees. Retrieved June 27, 2015. and a music department scholarship was created in his memory.West Texas A&M University (n.d.). Houston Bright Scholarship. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
Bright's professional memberships included the American Choral Directors Association, the Choral Conductors Guild of America, the Texas Composers Guild, and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He also conducted numerous workshops, including two for the Texas Choral Directors Association.
Bright continued composing and teaching until his death, of cancer, on December 8, 1970 in Canyon. He was 54 years old. His widow, the pianist and teacher Frances Usery Bright, donated his original manuscripts and other papers to the West Texas A&M University Music Library the following year. In 1974, Shawnee Press published his "We'll Sing a Glory" as a concluding opus posthumous.
Books
Elementary Counterpoint in Two Parts: A Modified Species Method West Texas State College Press (1958) Modern Tonal Counterpoint in Two Parts: Strict and Linear Styles West Texas State University (1965)
Musical works
The works of Houston Bright comprise around one hundred compositions, including pieces for symphony orchestra, concert band, choir, piano, and instrumental chamber ensembles, as well as a handful of songs for solo voice and piano. His music has been performed not only throughout North America and Europe but in South America, Taiwan, Japan, and Africa as well. Diverse choral and instrumental groups have performed (and recorded) his music, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,Ottley, Jerold D. (conductor); The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. A Jubilant Song: First Recordings of Twentieth-Century Choral Masterpieces. Columbia Masterworks M 34134, 1976. the Amarillo Symphony, the Wiener Singakademie,Wiener Singakademie – Konzertarchiv. Konzerte (2000) unter der Leitung von Heinz Ferlesch. Retrieved September 27, 2015. the American Woodwind Quintet, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir (Slovenský Filharmonický Zbor) of Bratislava, the Eastman Wind Ensemble,See Cipolla, Frank and Donald Hunsberger, editors. The Wind Ensemble and Its Repertoire: Essays on the Fortieth Anniversary of the Eastman Wind Ensemble. Rochester, New York: University of Rochester Press, 1994; p. 275, "Appendix A2B: Complete Repertoire of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, 1952–1992." and Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians. Most of Bright's scores were originally published by Waring's Shawnee Press.
Symphony Orchestra
Symphonic Dance (composed 1950) Symphony in E minor (1957–1959) I. Poco allegro II. Lento assai III. Menuetto, in modo poco burlesco IV. Allegro energico The Vision of Isaiah, trilogy for orchestra and chorus (1966)
The Amarillo Symphony Orchestra premiered Bright's Symphonic Dance in 1951, and his Symphony in E minor on March 24, 1959.The Prairie (West Texas State College newspaper); Canyon, Texas; March 20, 1959. "Prof's Symphony to Be Performed at Premiere by Amarillo Group."The Spearman Reporter; Spearman, Texas; November 5, 1959. "Dr. Houston Bright to Be Here Wednesday." Both were conducted by that ensemble's music director, A. Clyde Roller.
The Vision of Isaiah (originally titled Isaiah in the Temple), a three-movement cantata or short oratorio, received its debut on November 1, 1966 by the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra and a special two-hundred-voice Festival Chorus, under the baton of Roller's successor, Dr. Thomas Hohstadt. The work was subsequently published by Shawnee Press as a score for organ and chorus, with the orchestral score and parts for hire.The Canyon News; Canyon, Texas; October 27, 1966. "Orchestra, Chorus Premiere Trilogy."
Concert Band
Sketches from the West (composed 1954) I. Indian Ceremonial II. Nightrider's Lament III. Prairie Serenade IV. Dance of the Sun Devils Marche de Concert (1956) Prelude and Fugue in F minor (1958) Passacaglia in G minor (1964) Concerto Grosso in E minor (1968) I. Allegro moderato II. Lento cantabile III. Allegro commodo
"Houston Bright combined academically correct form with fresh and brilliant scoring," write professors Norman E. Smith and Albert Stoutamire in their volume Band Music Notes,Smith, Norman, and Albert Stoutamire. Band Music Notes, Revised Edition. San Diego, California: Kjos West/Neil A. Kjos, Jr., Publisher, 1979; p. 38. a global survey of the wind-ensemble genre. "He handled the colors of the band with skill and variety."