Air (1980)

Theodore Beck (1929–2003) — Air (1980) for organ

American composer and educator Theodore Beck (1929–2003) was born in Oak Park, Illinois. His father Albert was professor of music at Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois from 1914 until his death in 1962. Theodore Beck attended this same institution for his undergraduate degree and upon graduation served as instructor in organ while earning a master’s degree from Northwestern University. In 1953, Beck joined the faculty of Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University) in Seward, Nebraska where he remained for nearly 50 years until his full retirement in 2001. During this time, he also earned a Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Northwestern University. Beck taught hundreds of students during his decades at Concordia while also pursuing activity as a composer. Beck’s compositional output consists largely of vocal and choral music for the church; he also wrote several sacred and concert works for organ solo and edited music by baroque composers for publication. His compositional style places him in a tradition of American composers who were influenced by the European organ reform movement and applied those re-imagined neo-baroque and neo-classical influences to their work in a particularly American way. For more information: beck-music.com