A native to Lexington, Kentucky, Julia Perry was born to America Lois Heath Perry, a Virginia native and graduate of Morristown college, and Dr. Abraham Murphy Perry, a physician and amateur pianist.  She was the fourth of five daughters, and her mother encouraged music education.  Her grandfather, Abraham, “Abe”, Perry, was a very successful trainer of thoroughbred racehorses in the 19^th century; however, Jim Crow laws prohibited African Americans from this career, and he ceased training.   The Perry family was well known and prominent members of the African American community of Lexington, Kentucky.

At ten years old, Julia Perry’s family moved to Akron, Ohio, where she actively studied voice, piano, and violin.  She gained recognition for her musical talents and was awarded a scholarship at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, from 1943 to 1948 and she added conducting and composition to her studies.  A prolific composer, her early works were very well received.  Shortly after graduating with her masters, she participated in the National Association of Negro Musicians annual competition and won first prize in Competition and Voice.  She joined the faculty of Hampton Institute in Virginia, where she taught orchestration, composition, theory, and voice.   By 1949, Ms. Perry was clearing excelling.  She was awarded a scholarship to coach at the Columbia University Opera Workshop.  She lived in New York where she studied at Julliard and took voice at the Curtis Institute.   The Italian conductor, Piero Bellugi, was quite impressed with parts of her composition, Stabat Mater.  Bellugi introduced her to Luigi Dallapiccola, a well-recognized composer of the time, who became her mentor. 

Perry studied with Dallapiccola at Tanglewood, and in 1951, she completed and performed Stabat Mater, for string orchestra and soprano.  This important piece became the most performed work of her lifetime and established Julia Perry’s career as a composer. She later moved to Florence, Italy, to further her collaboration with Luigi Dallapiccola.  Her composition style leaned towards instrumental, and abstract, earning her the neoclassical style title.  Earlier works did include elements of traditional African American music, and many were spirituals, but her later works did not.

Despite suffering from some financial problems and some debilitating health issues, the 1960s were Ms. Perry’s most productive years. She composed multiple orchestral works, including her First Symphony, for full orchestra.  In 1964, the New York Philharmonic performed her Short Piece for Orchestra, later renamed, “Study for Orchestra”.   An accomplished teacher, Ms. Perry’s talents were not limited to her musical endeavors.  Fluent in French, Italian, and German, Ms. Perry worked as a substitute teacher back in Akron, Ohio, teaching these languages.  She also translated 78 African fables from Italian to English.  Sadly, in 1970, Julia Perry suffered a debilitating stroke that left her partially paralyzed, unable to speak, and confined to a wheelchair. 

A determined woman, she taught herself to write with her left hand and aspired to walk and conduct again.  She composed several works after her incapacitation, including her final five symphonies.  Her last known work, Bicentennial Reflections, was composed in 1977.  Ms. Perry tried to have her work published as opposed to storing it in an archive; however, despite her previous success, nothing was published and has subsequently been lost. 

Julia Perry (1924-1979) made a substantial contribution to the arts.  Ms. Perry’s estate, during her centennial year, assigned all copyrights to her unpublished works to Videmus, Inc., a non- profit arts organization responsible for the recent resurgence of concert works by African American women and other under-represented composers.   Videmus partnered with Boosey and Hawkes and they have made her music available through licensing, print, and performance.  Although only six works have been released thus far but this effort is ongoing and there is more to come.

During the last three years of her life, Julia Perry was under the care of her mother.  She passed in Akron, Ohio, after suffering a heart attack at age 55. A fascinating woman, a prolific composer, her work is a gift that is being slowly unwrapped and made available for performances again.

Please listen to a sample of her work here.