John Barnes Chance (November 20, 1932–August 16, 1972) was an American composer. Chance, who studied composition with Clifton Williams at the University of Texas, Austin, is best known for his concert band works, which include Variations on a Korean Folk Song, Incantation and Dance , and Blue Lake Overture , which are written in a neo-romantic style. Many of his works are written for young musicians, particularly those written between 1960 and 1962, when he was composer-in-residence in the Greensboro, North Carolina public school system as part of the Ford Foundation Young Composers Project.

Before he became a full-time composer, Chance played timpani with the Austin Symphony and later was an arranger for the Fourth and Eighth U.S. Army bands. Chance taught at the University of Kentucky from 1966 until his accidental death of electrocution in 1972.

Works

• Symphony no. 1, orchestra (1956)
• Overture to a Fairy Tale, orchestra (1957)
• Credo, trumpet and piano (1959)
• Fiesta!, orchestra (1960)
• Satiric Suite, string orchestra (1961)
• Blessed are They that Mourn, from Biblical text, chorus, horn, strings, and percussion (1961)
• The Noiseless, Patient Spider, text from E.E. Cummings, female choir and flutes (1961)
• Incantation and Dance, concert band (1962)
• Alleluia, chorus and concert band (1962)
• 3 Songs, text E. E. Cummings, soprano, flute, and piano (1962)
• Ballad and March, on American traditional text, chorus and concert band (1962)
• Introduction and Capriccio, woodwind ensemble with piano (1966)
• Variations on a Korean Folk Song, concert band (1967)
• Kyrie and Alleluia, chorus and orchestra (1967)
• Blue Lake Overture, concert band (1971)
• Elegy, concert band (1972)
• Symphony no. 2, wind ensemble (1975)

References

• Raoul F. Camus: "John Barnes Chance", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy. Accessed 27 Mar 05.
• Program Notes, Community Band of Brevard

External links

• .mp3 of Variations on a Korean Folk Song