James Beale

Biography

James Beale, born in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts in 1924, received his early musical training under the guidance of Stanley Chapple. He studied at Harvard with Walter Piston, Irving Fine and Aaron Copland, and received a scholarship to continue work with Mr. Copland at the Berkshire Music Center in 1946. At Yale, where he worked with Richard Donovan, his Piano Trio won the Woods-Chandler Prize.

In 1958 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship and spent the following year near Paris writing his Cressay Symphony, a work in four movements for large orchestra. His compositions have been performed by orchestras throughout the country, including the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (with which he was pianist in 1945), the Columbia University Orchestra, the St. Louis Little Symphony, the Tacoma Civic Orchestra and the Portland Junior Symphony. His compositions include several symphonic works, piano sonatas, a piano trio, violin sonatas, cello concertos, etc.

During World War II, he served in the American Field Service in Italy and North Africa. He graduated from Harvard College in 1945 and in 1947 received a Master of Music from Yale University. 

He joined the faculty of the University of Washington School of Music in 1948 and taught his last classes in 1994, a span of 46 years.

(portrait drawing by John K. Costello)

ACE Publications

46 title(s)
Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
James Beale PROVERBS, op 28
bar, Ehn,vib, pf/cel
James Beale SEXTET for Winds and Piano Op. 39 woodwind quintet, piano
James Beale SINFONIETTA, for Band,Op 37 PICC-2-2-6(Eb,3Bb,alto,bs)-2-cbsn,optional saxes(SATB), Cor(3),5-3-3-1, timp, perc(3),cb
James Beale SIX BAGATELLES FOR PIANO op 29
pf
James Beale SONATA FOR ALTO SAX AND PIANO; Op49
asax, pf
James Beale SONATA FOR CLARINET AND PIANO, Op. 53
cl, pf
James Beale SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO, op 44
vla,pf
James Beale SONATA FOR VIOLIN & PIANO; Op 22
vln,pf
James Beale STRING QUARTET NO 1, Op 15
string quartet
James Beale STRING QUARTET NO 2, Op. 30
string quartet
James Beale SUITE FOR STRINGS, Op 42 string orchestra
James Beale SYMPHONY, Op 10 (for chamber orch) 2/pic-2-2-2,2-0-0-0,timp,str
James Beale THREE MINIATURES, op 3
ob, cl, vla
James Beale THREE MOTETS, Op. 40
Women's chorus SSA
James Beale THREE PIECES FOR 6 HARPS, op 46
hp(6)
James Beale THREE PIECES FOR VIBRAPHONE, Op. 27 Vibraphone
James Beale THREE SONGS, Op 33
sop, vln,vla
James Beale TRIO FOR VIOLIN, CELLO, & PIANO(op 5)
vn, vcl, pf
James Beale TWO SHAKESPEAREAN SONNETS, Op. 52
SATB & str qt
James Beale VARIATIONS FOR ORCHESTRA, Op.51 2-2-2-2-CBSN, 4-4-3-1,timp,perc(2), str
James Beale WOODWIND QUINTET, Op.48
fl, ob, cl, bn, hn

Additional Works

  • How Beautiful Are the Dwellings of Piece, Opus 24 – a hymn/choral piece composed in 1957-58 (Dow Publishing)