Hubert Klyne Headley (1906–1996) was an American composer, musician, and educator.
Early life and education Headley was born at Parkersburg, West Virginia on June 19, 1906.Wood County Register of Births, 1905–1915, p. H-2. When he was six, his family moved to Fresno, California. His father, Lewis Lee Headley, was Superintendent of Schools, and his mother, Belle Cook Headley, was an organist."Our Neighbors", in The Langley Advance, 30 Nov. 1961. At the age of ten he was introduced to Maurice Ravel, whose music had a strong effect on him. He studied music at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, graduating in 1928."Five Educators to Join Staff of State College", in The Fresno Bee, 4 Sept. 1935. While there, he met Flora Denius of Vallejo, also a student at the college's music conservatory, whom he married in 1929."Klyne Headley, Vallejo Girl Wed Tomorrow", in the Martinez Daily Standard, 15 June 1929.
For eight years, Headley served as director of instrumental music for California high schools, and earned a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he later worked toward a Doctorate of Philosophy. He studied composition with Nadia Boulanger and Howard Hanson."Works by Santa Barbara Composers To Be Performed at Rockwood Today", in Santa Barbara News-Press, 7 May 1950.
Career In the fall of 1935, Headley joined the music department of Fresno State College, replacing Assistant Professor Arthur C. Berdahl. Although he had produced and performed various short compositions on violin, piano, and organ since the 1920s, his first work to receive national attention was The Jester's Dream, a symphonic composition completed in the summer of 1935, and subsequently performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Headley's most famous work is the California Suite, an orchestral work commissioned by Standard Oil of California for the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939. The work was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Pierre Monteux."Headley To Give Concerts At Ventura, Palm Springs", in Santa Barbara News-Press, 28 Oct. 1945. Monteux later conducted part of the work in a radio concert for The Standard Symphony Hour."Former Fresnan's Music Will Be Concert Feature: Fiesta From Headley's California Suite Will Be Heard Over KMJ", in The Fresno Bee, 23 May 1940. Headley's works would be performed regularly on this program for the next several years. Howard Hanson conducted the Rochester Civic Orchestra performing the California Suite for the NBC Radio Network in January of 1941."Hanson Slates Symposium", in the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), 5 Jan. 1941.
Also in 1939, Headley joined the faculty at Santa Barbara State College, and succeeded Maurice Faulkner as conductor of the University of California Symphony Orchestra in Santa Barbara."Music: H. Klyne Headley, Local Composer, Completes Monumental Symphonic Work", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 21 Jan. 1951. Here he began to hone his reputation as a composer and pianist, giving various concerts at which he conducted his own works."Headley Quits College Post", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 8 Jan. 1943.
In 1942, José Iturbi conducted the premiere of Headley's Argentango, a concerto for piano and orchestra, with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra."Klyne Headley To Play New Work Today", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 13 Dec. 1942."Headley To Give Concerts At Ventura, Palm Springs", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 28 Oct. 1945. Later that year, Headley performed a "piano sketch" of what would eventually become his Symphony No. 2, Prelude to Man, based on the poem by Chard Powers Smith, about the stages of the development of life on earth prior to the advent of mankind. The work would not be completed until 1951, at which time Headley took it to New York to present to Howard Hanson, Leonard Bernstein, and other leading figures in the musical world.
Headley enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in January, 1943, training to become a transport pilot during World War II, and receiving military leave from Santa Barbara State College. After his wartime service concluded, the U.S. State Department asked him to report on the familiarity of Europeans with American cultural life during a visit to France and England. Based on his experiences, Headley concluded that Europeans were most familiar with American culture through Hollywood films and Swing music, and recommended that funds be expended to acquaint them with the nation's other cultural developments."Europe Gains Idea of American Culture Through Movies, Composer Says", in the Pasadena Star-News, 4 Aug. 1946. Headley subsequently gave performances in Paris, London, Budapest, and Prague.
In 1948, Headley was invited to serve as guest conductor of the Standard Symphony Hour, which had regularly performed his compositions."Headley to Direct Radio Symphony", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 22 Feb. 1948. He continued to premiere new works into the 1950s."Works by Santa Barbara Composers To Be Performed at Rockwood Today", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 7 May 1950."Headley Compositions to have Premier Performance", in the Santa Barbara News-Press, 6 May 1951. He was named conductor of the Fresno Municipal Symphony Orchestra, and was also a guest conductor of the Duluth Symphony Orchestra.
In 1953, Headley married Joan Stechman of Los Angeles, a ballet dancer and musician. After Headley left Santa Barbara College in 1954, he and his wife moved to Seattle, Washington, where Headley taught at the Cornish School of Applied Arts. In 1960,"Sometimes dreams come true late: Posthumous CD release: Composer, musician and teacher's work is finally available", in The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia), 15 Nov. 2007. they moved to Langley, British Columbia, where Headley taught music in area elementary schools, and was band instructor at Aldergrove High School, while Jean taught ballet at York House School in Vancouver. In the late 1960s, Headley moved to Greater Sudbury, Ontario, where he helped to develop the music program at Cambrian College. He then returned to Vancouver, where he lived until his death in 1996.
Legacy By the late twentieth century, Headley's music was largely forgotten, and many of his works are lost. In 2006, his music resurfaced by accident. For the one hundredth anniversary of his birth, Russian State TV performed several of Headley's compositions, including the California Suite, conducted by Dmitry Yablonsky, a conductor who has focussed on reviving forgotten or hitherto unknown music. In 2007, Robert Buckley, one of Headley's former students, and Stan MacDaniel took joint responsibility for the recordings of his music. Subsequently, the Naxos record label published a CD of Headley's music in an "American Classics" series.
Compositions (selection) Orchestral 1935 The Jester's Dream Dance Love Song Processional 1939 California Suite, for orchestra (composed for the inauguration of the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco) Golden Gate Yosemite Fiesta 1941 Concerto No. 1 (Argentango), for piano and orchestra 1945 Concerto No. 2, for piano and orchestra 1946 Symphony No. 1 (for Radio), for orchestra 1951 Symphony No. 2 (Prelude to Man), for soprano, alto, tenor, bass solo, mixed chorus, speaking chorus, orchestra and ballet (also known as: Prelude to Man, a symphonic cycle in four parts) (text: Chard Powers Smith) Fountain of Being Pan, the Body Jehovah, the Mind Brahma, the Spirit The Fountain of Being
Operas 1946 Noche Serena 1961-1962 The darkened city, opera in 3 acts (libretto: Robert Glynn Kelly)
Piano 1942 Prelude to Man, piano sketch that would later become his Symphony No. 2 1945 Caprice Espagnole 1945 Reminiscences Sculpture Old Music Turbulence The Poet Mirage 1950 Variations on a Theme from the Hebrides
Choral 1945 Pastorale Sililoquy Like Cathedral Trees Like Lakes and Streams Like a Boy Whistling Like a Boy and his God 1968 Peace, for orchestra and children's choir
Chamber 1954 Sonate, for cello and piano 1954 Sonata Ibérica, for cello and piano 1957 Quintet in two parts, for piano, strings and clarinet Septet, for winds and strings
Ballet 1945 Vignettes for Ballet Flute at Evening Cups of Jade Bell at Evening Puppets The Pool Song of Songs
Other"Music", in The Fresno Bee, 9 Jan. 1928; "Specialties Mark Concert Program", in The Fresno Bee, 26 Aug. 1928. 1927 "The Fairies Have Never A Penny To Spend" 1927 "Lullaby" 1927 "A Mood" 1927 "Ballet Burlesque" 1928 "Sweetheart Why Don't You Answer Me?" (waltz ballad)
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