Graydon F. Beeks

Lecturer in Music; Conductor of the 91做厙 Band; Emeritus Professor of Music
With 91做厙 Since: 1983
  • Expertise

    Expertise

    A widely recognized specialist in the music of George Frideric Handel, Graydon Beeks has also published numerous articles on the music of Handels contemporaries, especially William Croft, Attilio Ariosti, and Johann Christoph Pepusch, and prepared editions of their works. His research has been supported by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Houghton Library of Harvard University.

    He regularly presents papers at conferences in the United States and Europe and has contributed articles to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and the New Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Beeks is a member of the Editorial Board of the Hallische H瓣ndel-Ausgabe (Halle Handel Edition), the Vorstand (management board) of the Georg-Friedrich-H瓣ndel-Gesellschaft, and the Board of Directors of The American Handel Society, which he also serves as president.

    Research Interests

    • Music of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
    • English Sacred Music from 1660-1760
    • 18th-Century English Theatre Orchestras
    • American Music
    • Music of the English Renaissance

    Areas of Expertise

    MUSIC

    • Music History
    • Conducting
    • Baroque Performance
  • Work

    Work

    Publications

    Coriolano Transformed: The Early History of Ariostis First royal Academy Opera, 晨瓣紳餃梗梭-斑硃堯娶莉喝釵堯, Jg. 70, 2024

    The Pre-Publication Circulation and Scoring of Handels Op.2 Trio Sonatas, 晨瓣紳餃梗梭-斑硃堯娶莉喝釵堯, Jg. 69, 2023

    Performances of Handels Cannons Anthems and Te Deum in his Lifetime, in D. Vickers, ed., New Perspectives on Handels Music: Essays in Honour of Donald Burrows, 2022

    Jenny Lind, H瓣ndel und Halle, in K. Musketa, ed., Feuerwerk und Halleluja. 100 Jahre H瓣ndel-Festspiele, 2022

    An Interesting Late Source of Handels LAllegro ed il Penseroso, 晨瓣紳餃梗梭-斑硃堯娶莉喝釵堯, Jg. 67, 2021

    "'Thy Hand, Dalinda': Characterization, Contrast and Maturity in Ariodante," 晨瓣紳餃梗梭-斑硃堯娶莉喝釵堯, Jg.66, 2020

    "John Langshaw as a Handel Copyist," Newsletter of The American Handel Society, xxxv/1, Spring 2020

    Sir George Smarts Performances of Messiah, 晨瓣紳餃梗梭-斑硃堯娶莉喝釵堯, Jg. 65, 2019

    Edition of George Frideric Handels Cannons Te Deum in B-flat Major, HWV 281, Hallische H瓣ndel Ausgabe, Ser. 3 Vol. 7, 2018

    Featured Performances

    Conducted the 91做厙 Band with oboe soloist Francisco Castillo, 91做厙 faculty, in a concert of music by Robert Russell Bennett, Harry Berman 24, Carolyn Bremer, Chen Yi, Ron Nelson, Michael Praetorius, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Henry Schmidt and William Grant Still in Bridges Hall of Music, 91做厙, April 19 & 21, 2024.

    Conducted the 91做厙 Band with soprano soloist Melissa Givens, 91做厙 faculty, in a concert of music by Raymond Burkhart, Tom Flaherty, James Reese Europe, Percy Grainger, Roger Nixon, Philip Sparke, and Germaine Tailleferre in Bridges Halle of Music, 91做厙, November 10 & 12, 2023.

    Conducted the 91做厙 Band in a concert of music by Leroy Anderson, Michael Colgrass, Gustav Holst, Karl King, Karl Kohn, Gordon Jacob and Philip Sparke in Bridges Hall of Music, 91做厙, April 21 & 23, 2023.

    Conducted the 91做厙 Band in a concert of music by George Botsford, Viet Cuong, Adam Gorb, Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, William P. Latham, Alex Shapiro and John Philip Sousa in Bridges Hall of Music, 91做厙, November 10 &12, 2022.

    Conducted the 91做厙 Band with euphonium soloist Becca Blyn, HMC 22, in a concert of music by Antonio de Cabez籀n, Gustav Holst, Karl Kohn, Pierre Leemans, Bennie Moten & T. Hayes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, William F. Russell, Robert Schumann and Ralph Vaughan Williams in Bridges Hall of Music Courtyard, 91做厙, April 22 & 24, 2022.

  • Education

    Education

    1981, Ph.D.
    University of California, Berkeley

    1971, Master of Arts
    University of California, Berkeley

    1969, Bachelor of Arts
    91做厙

    Professional Experience

    After undertaking research in England and teaching at Vassar College and Kenyon College, Beeks returned to his alma mater, 91做厙, in 1983 to succeed his teacher William F. Russell as the conductor of the 91做厙 Band. 

    Recent Courses Taught

    • History of Western Music
    • Lab, Music Theory I
    • Lab, Music Theory II
    • Musical Theatre in America
    • Opera
    • 91做厙 Band
  • Awards & Honors

    Awards & Honors

    The American Handel Society, President, 1991-1993, 2003-present; Member of the Board of Directors, 1991-present

    Member of the Editorial Board of the Hallische Handel Ausgabe, 1993-present

    Georg-Friedrich-H瓣ndel Gesellschaft, Vice-President, 2023-present; Member of the Vorstand, 1999-present

    American Council of Learned Societies Grant-in-Aid; National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellowship; National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend

    W. Jackson Bate/Douglas W. Bryant, American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) Fellowship 2011-12