Thomas Jefferson Anderson

T. J. Anderson was born in 1928 in Pennsylvania and went on to receive degrees from multiple established universities across the country including West Virginia State College, Penn State University, and the University of Iowa, as well as several honorary degrees.

After his education he went on to be the Chairman of the Department of Music at Tufts University for eight years, eventually becoming the Austin Fletcher Professor of Music.

During his education he was able to study composition with George Ceiga, Philip Bezanson, Richard Hervig, and Darius Milhaud.

He has many awards and honors to his name including commissions from Yo-Yo Ma, the National Endowment for the Arts, Harvard University, Fisk University, and the Berkshire Music Center. He received a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation and a Rockefeller Center Foundation Grant. He is one of the founders and the first president of the National Black Music Caucus.

He is most well known for his orchestration of Scott Joplins opera Treemonisha, which made it to the stage for the first time in 1972. He also has an incredibly expansive collection of songs which have been recorded by many of the distinguished artists of the 20th and 21st century.

–Megan Maloney

Bibliography:

“T. J. Anderson Biography.” T.J. Anderson, Composer, www.tjandersonmusic.com/bio.html.

“T.J. Anderson.” African American Art Song Alliance, artsongalliance.org/composers/tj-anderson.

“T.J. Anderson.” African Diaspora Music Project, africandiasporamusicproject.org/tj_anderson.

“T.J. Anderson.” American Composers Alliance, www.composers.com/composers/tj-anderson.

“T.J. Anderson’s Biography.” The HistoryMakers, www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/tj-anderson-42.