January 24, 1913:
Norman Dello Joio is born in New York, New York, USA, the only child of Casimiro Dello Joio, an organist and Italian immigrant, and Antoinette Garramone.
June 6, 1930:
Norman Dello Joio (17) graduates from All Hallows High School in New York. He will call his high school experience “a time of excruciating boredom.”
May 11, 1940:
Concertino for flute and strings by Norman Dello Joio (27) is performed for the first time, at a student composition concert at the Juilliard School, New York.
July 8, 1940:
The opening ceremonies for the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood in Lennox, Massachusetts take place. The first season includes the residency of Paul Hindemith (44) and Aaron Copland (39). Among the students are Norman Dello Joio (27), Leonard Bernstein (21) and Lukas Foss (17).
March 9, 1941:
Sandburg Phrases (later called Suite for piano) by Norman Dello Joio (28) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, New York.
March 17, 1941:
Sonata for cello and piano by Norman Dello Joio (28) is performed for the first time, at the MacDowell Club, New York the composer at the keyboard.
April 4, 1941:
Concertino in Stilo Classico for piano and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (28) is performed for the first time, in New York.
May 10, 1941:
Sinfonietta for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (28) is performed for the first time, at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.
July 6, 1941:
The Berkshire Music Center opens at Tanglewood for a second season. Paul Hindemith (45) and Aaron Copland (40) are again the resident composers. Students include Norman Dello Joio (28), Ulysses Kay (24), Robert Ward (23), and Lukas Foss (18).
April 1, 1942:
Fantasia on a Gregorian Theme for violin and piano by Norman Dello Joio (29) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
May 14, 1942:
Concerto for two pianos and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (29) is performed for the first time, at a student composition concert at the Juilliard School, New York.
June 5, 1942:
Norman Dello Joio (29) marries Grace Baumgold, the daughter of a diamond broker, in New York.
March 31, 1943:
Magnificat for chamber orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (30) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York. It wins the Town Hall Composition Award of $250.
March 1, 1944:
Trio for flute, cello, and piano by Norman Dello Joio (31) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
April 9, 1944:
The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowships are announced, including ones for Harry Partch (42) and Norman Dello Joio (31).
October 15, 1944:
Duo concertante for cello and piano by Norman Dello Joio (31) is performed for the first time.
April 28, 1945:
Symphony for voices and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (32) to words of Stephen Vincent Benét is performed for the first time, in New York.
November 23, 1945:
On Stage for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (32) is performed for the first time, in Cleveland.
January 4, 1946:
Concert Music for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (32) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh.
December 19, 1946:
Tre ricercare for piano and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (33) is performed for the first time, in New York the composer at the keyboard.
November 3, 1947:
Concerto for harp and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (34) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
January 30, 1948:
Variations, Chaconne and Finale for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (35) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh.
August 13, 1948:
Wilderness Stair: Diversion of Angels, a ballet by Norman Dello Joio (35), is performed for the first time, at Connecticut College, New London. See 20 October 1949.
December 14, 1948:
Variations and Capriccio for violin and piano by Norman Dello Joio (35) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall.
May 22, 1949:
Concertante for clarinet and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (36) is performed for the first time, at Chautauqua, New York by Artie Shaw who commissioned the work.
August 21, 1949:
New York Profiles for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (36) is performed for the first time, in La Jolla, California.
October 20, 1949:
Serenade for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (36) is performed for the first time, in Cleveland. It is the orchestral setting of his ballet Diversion of Angels. See 13 August 1948.
December 5, 1951:
The Triumph of Saint Joan Symphony by Norman Dello Joio (38) is performed for the first time, in Louisville. While writing the work, the composer was contacted by Martha Graham who had a commission for a solo ballet and she wanted Dello Joio to write the music. He told her it was impossible as he was in the middle of writing a symphony. She said she would dance to that. Dello Joio remembers the premiere as a disaster for Ms. Graham (“she spent much of her time just running around the stage”) but she will turn it into Seraphic Dialogue, with three dancers taking the part of Joan. It will become one of her more successful works.
January 29, 1952:
Epigraph for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (39) is performed for the first time, in Denver.
June 15, 1953:
Incidental music to Anderson’s play The Tall Kentuckian by Norman Dello Joio (40) is performed for the first time, in the amphitheatre of Iroquois Park, Louisville. Mayor Charles Farnsley temporarily suspended the “whites only” policy in the park, in order to allow the city’s blacks to view the play during its run, today through 5 July.
October 14, 1953:
Aria and Toccata for two pianos by Norman Dello Joio (40) is performed for the first time, in New York.
August 21, 1954:
The Lamentation of Saul, a dramatic cantata for baritone, flute, oboe, clarinet, viola, cello, and piano by Norman Dello Joio (41), is performed for the first time, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the composer at the keyboard.
May 13, 1955:
The Ruby, an opera by Norman Dello Joio (42) to words of Mass (pseud. Gibson) after Dunsany, is performed for the first time, at Indiana University in Bloomington. The composer so changed the work of the librettist that he insists it be published under another name.
April 8, 1956:
The Trial at Rouen, a television opera by Norman Dello Joio (43) to his own words, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of NBC. See 16 April 1959.
April 20, 1956:
Two works are performed for the first time, in Juilliard Concert Hall, New York: Theatre Piece no.2 for tape, piano, voice, narrator, percussion, and winds by Otto Luening (55), and Meditation on Ecclesiastes for strings by Norman Dello Joio (43). See 6 May 1957.
November 11, 1956:
Today is the broadcast of the first of 22 programs in a series called Air Power by CBS. The music for the series is by Norman Dello Joio (43).
May 6, 1957:
Norman Dello Joio (44) is awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Meditations on Ecclesiastes. See 20 April 1956.
February 16, 1958:
A Ballad of the Seven Lively Arts for piano and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (45) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of CBS television the composer at the piano.
February 26, 1959:
To Saint Cecilia, a cantata by Norman Dello Joio (46) to words of Dryden, is performed for the first time, in Kansas City, Kansas.
April 16, 1959:
The Triumph of Saint Joan, an opera by Norman Dello Joio (46) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in New York. It is an adaptation of his television opera The Trial at Rouen. See 8 April 1956.
January 28, 1960:
Elliott Carter (51) writes to the State Department, declining an invitation to travel to the USSR with Aaron Copland (59), and Norman Dello Joio (47).
September 18, 1961:
Blood Moon, an opera by Norman Dello Joio (48) to words of Hoffman after AI Mencken, is performed for the first time, in San Francisco.
November 13, 1961:
Pablo Casals gives a recital at the White House before President and Mrs. Kennedy and 200 invited guests. Among those attending are the elite of the musical culture of the United States: Walter Piston (67), Howard Hanson (65), Virgil Thomson (64), Roger Sessions (64), Henry Cowell (64), Roy Harris (63), Aaron Copland (60), Elliott Carter (52), Samuel Barber (51), William Schuman (51), Alan Hovhaness (50), Gian Carlo Menotti (50), Norman Dello Joio (48), Leonard Bernstein (43), Eugene Ormandy, and Leopold Stokowski. The concert is recorded and will be televised. Bernstein will recall “I’ve never seen so many happy artists in my life.”
December 24, 1961:
The Saintmaker’s Christmas Eve, with music by Norman Dello Joio (48), is shown in a special broadcast over ABC television.
March 9, 1962:
Fantasy and Variations for piano and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (49) is performed for the first time, in Cincinnati.
January 20, 1963:
The Music Educators National Conference announces in Washington a six-year, $1,380,000 grant by the Ford Foundation to stimulate the creative aspects of music in US public schools. It will be directed by a committee chaired by Norman Dello Joio (49).
April 10, 1963:
Variations on a Medieval Tune for band by Norman Dello Joio (50) is performed for the first time.
March 6, 1964:
Colloquies, a suite for violin and piano by Norman Dello Joio (51), is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York.
November 12, 1964:
Norman Dello Joio (51) begins a six-week tour of the Soviet Union, Romania, and Bulgaria as part of a cultural exchange sponsored by the United States State Department.
November 17, 1964:
The documentary film The Louvre, with music by Norman Dello Joio (51), is shown for the first time, over the airwaves of NBC television.
January 27, 1965:
Norman Dello Joio (52) is elected to the council of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
March 13, 1966:
Scenes from the Louvre for band by Norman Dello Joio (53) is performed for the first time, at Baldwin Wallace College, Berea, Ohio conducted by the composer.
August 20, 1966:
Songs of Walt Whitman for chorus and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (53) is performed for the first time, in Interlochen, Michigan.
December 12, 1966:
Antiphonal Fantasy for organ, brass, and strings by Norman Dello Joio (53) is performed for the first time, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
January 17, 1969:
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn for band by Norman Dello Joio (55) is performed for the first time, at Michigan State University. See 3 June 1969.
June 3, 1969:
Homage to Haydn for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (56) is performed for the first time, in Little Rock, Arkansas. See 17 January 1969.
August 22, 1969:
Songs of Abelard for baritone and band by Norman Dello Joio (56) is performed for the first time.
December 7, 1969:
Mass for chorus, brass, and organ by Norman Dello Joio (56) is performed for the first time, in the Church of Our Lady of Loretto at St. Mary’s College in Indiana.
October 2, 1970:
Evocations for chorus and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (57) is performed for the first time, in Tampa, conducted by the composer.
February 23, 1975:
Lyric Fantasies for string orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (62) is performed for the first time.
July 17, 1975:
Satiric Dances for a Comedy by Aristophanes for band by Norman Dello Joio (62) is performed for the first time, in Concord, Massachusetts. The work was commissioned by the Concord Band in honor of the bicentennial of the Battle of Concord.
December 8, 1975:
Mass in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Norman Dello Joio (62) is performed for the first time, in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington.
May 27, 1976:
Colonial Variants for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (63) is performed for the first time, in Wilmington, Delaware.
January 22, 1977:
Southern Echoes for orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (63) is performed for the first time, in Savannah.
August 26, 1977:
Songs of Remembrance for baritone and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (64) to words of Wheelock is performed for the first time, in Saratoga, New York.
May 18, 1979:
As of a Dream for narrator, chorus, and orchestra by Norman Dello Joio (66) to words of Whitman is performed for the first time, in Midland, Michigan.
December 4, 1987:
Nativity: A Canticle for the Child, an opera-oratorio by Norman Dello Joio (74) to words of Gibson, is performed for the first time, in the Midland Music Center, Midland, Michigan.
May 22, 2003:
Passing Strangers for chorus by Norman Dello Joio (90) is performed for the first time, in Mystic Beach, New York.
July 24, 2008:
Norman Dello Joio dies at his home at 48 Huckleberry Lane in East Hampton, New York, USA, aged 95 years and six months. His earthly remains will be laid to rest in Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton.