Today in Wheeling History: December 28—Robert Boury, an American composer and pianist, was born in Wheeling (1946).
Robert "Bob" Wade Boury was born on December 28, 1946, in Wheeling, West Virginia to Michael Boury and Pearl "Mickey" Boury. His father Michael and uncles ran the commissary for their Elby's Big Boy restaurants, while his mother was a talented pianist who turned down a scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory. Though she did not pursue music as a career, her piano playing influenced Boury from a young age. He began studying piano and composition at age 10 with Dorothy Ackerman Zoeckler. Boury later attended Manhattan School of Music where he studied with David Diamond and Mario Davidovsky, and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan, where he was influenced by Leslie Bassett, Ross Lee Finney and others. Boury had an extensive career as a composer, writing works for piano, voice, chorus, chamber groups, and orchestra. He served over 40 years as resident composer and professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he met his wife Laura. Boury was known for his art songs, cycles and albums, which were performed internationally. He won awards like the Joseph H. Bearnes Composition Prize. Boury passed away on June 17, 2023, in Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 76, survived by his wife and daughter.
To learn more: (http://tinyurl.com/2zf272zn) (http://tinyurl.com/2kav95tm)
Photo Credits: Alchetron
Robert "Bob" Wade Boury was born on December 28, 1946, in Wheeling, West Virginia to Michael Boury and Pearl "Mickey" Boury. His father Michael and uncles ran the commissary for their Elby's Big Boy restaurants, while his mother was a talented pianist who turned down a scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory. Though she did not pursue music as a career, her piano playing influenced Boury from a young age. He began studying piano and composition at age 10 with Dorothy Ackerman Zoeckler. Boury later attended Manhattan School of Music where he studied with David Diamond and Mario Davidovsky, and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan, where he was influenced by Leslie Bassett, Ross Lee Finney and others. Boury had an extensive career as a composer, writing works for piano, voice, chorus, chamber groups, and orchestra. He served over 40 years as resident composer and professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he met his wife Laura. Boury was known for his art songs, cycles and albums, which were performed internationally. He won awards like the Joseph H. Bearnes Composition Prize. Boury passed away on June 17, 2023, in Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 76, survived by his wife and daughter.
To learn more: (http://tinyurl.com/2zf272zn) (http://tinyurl.com/2kav95tm)
Photo Credits: Alchetron
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