Heritage Suite

As founder and president (1974-1995) of Meet The Composer, an Organization dedicated to the creation, performance, and recording of music by American composers, John Duffy initiated countless programs to advance American music and to aid American composers. But there is another side to John Duffy. He has composed more than 300 works for symphony Orchestra, theater, television and film. He grew up in the Bronx, one of 14 children of Irish immigrant parents. He studied with Copland, Cowell, Dallapiccola and Solomon Rosowsky whom he credits with insisting uncompromisingly on learning the craft of music composition and developing the discipline and patience necessary to the art. The Heritage music on this disc is a reissue of the music on the old ASV disc which has been long unavailable. The performance of the Symphony No. 1 is a new one and is different from the one that appears on Koss Classics. Heritage, Fanfare and Chorale, Heritage Suite for Orchestra and Heritage Symphonic Dances have all been drawn by Mr. Duffy from the score he composed for the nine-hour PBS series Heritage: Civilization and the Jews. This wonderful, stirring music earned for Mr. Duffy an Emmy. The Chicago Tribune called the music "haunting, memorable and brilliant." The Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club, Gibbs Smith, president, commissioned Symphony No. 1 in order to draw attention to the endangered, pristine wilderness lands of southern Utah. The score is dedicated to Mr. Smith and the Sierra Club. The Symphony was premiered by Paul Connelly and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City on November 29, 1989. Mr. Duffy's tuneful, energetic music should find a large and welcome audience.