Obituary of Eugene Thamon Simpson

Eugene Thamon Simpson (Ed.D.), 89, conductor, arranger, vocalist and pianist, died peacefully on Sunday, May 2nd at his home in Sicklerville, New Jersey. Born in Traphill, North Carolina, to Eugene Tyra Simpson and Roxie Violet Johnson, Eugene Thamon’s musical gifts were apparent early on. He began playing the piano by ear at age six, and by age nine he was known as a local musical prodigy in Bladenboro, North Carolina—where the family eventually settled. After refusing the offer of a Julliard education by wealthy New York patrons, Eugene’s parents enrolled him in Palmer Memorial Institute (1947), a school for upper-class African Americans in Sedalia, North Carolina. During this period, he organized his first choral group, The Bladenboro Choral Society. His studies continued at Howard University (1951), where he was recognized as the Most Distinguished Student in Applied Music. Upon graduation, Simpson auditioned and was accepted at the Yale School of Music, where he earned a second B.M. (1953) and an M.M. (1954) in Piano Performance. Simpson passed on the opportunity to succeed William Dawson as Director of the famed Tuskegee Choir. Instead, he went to Juilliard where he auditioned for Rosina Lhevinne, teacher of Van Cliburn and John Williams. Simpson spent that summer studying with Lhevinne’s assistant, Leland Thompson. Simpson went on to enroll in the Doctoral Program at Columbia’s Teachers College. While completing his doctoral residency, he studied with Robert Pace, Allen Forte and Thomas Richner. He was inducted into Phi Delta Kappa and Kappa Delta Pi Honor Societies, and he played a debut piano recital at Carl Fischer Hall before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1956. During basic training, Simpson auditioned for the Second Army Major Command Chorus and was ultimately transferred to Ft. Meade, Maryland, to serve as Asst. Conductor and accompanist for the group. In December of 1956, Simpson assembled The Melodaires, a quartet of African American singers/servicemen. Simpson wrote and taught arrangements to the group in preparation for the first All-Army Entertainment Contest. The Melodaires swept the competition, winning the Vocal Group Category on Post, Second Army, and All-Army Levels, beating out the West Point Cadet Quartet. In addition to trophies and bragging rights, the group earned an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and a 9-month world tour through the Department of Army Special Services. Simpson served as NCOIC of the world tour. Simpson was honorably discharged from the army and moved to New York City. His increased interest in singing—and long absence from piano practice—led him to study voice while working as a choral teacher at George Washington and Prospect Heights High Schools. He organized The Voices of Friendship in 1962, a semi-professional choral group that performed concert spirituals in the style and tradition of American composer Hall Johnson. Simpson’s flexible voice made him employable as a singer. After his first commercial recording sessions with Quincy Jones and Little Richard, he was in demand for high-visibility projects as both a studio singer and commercial voice artist. Between 1960-68, he recorded with major artists including Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Brook Benton, Dinah Washington, Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett, Nicolai Gedda, William Warfield, Patti Page, Bobby Darin, and The Ray Charles Singers. He could also be heard in commercials for Texaco and 3 Musketeers candy. On-camera television appearances include NBC Project Twenty, “Those Ragtime Years” with Hoagy Carmichael; CBS Camera Three with Wilbur De Paris; and Lamp Unto My Feet with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Vocal study with Ugo De Caro (teacher of Renata Tebaldi) and Paola Novikova (teacher of George London) resulted in considerable growth and numerous opportunities, including: New York City recitals and guest appearances; a Tanglewood Fellowship in 1965; a Tanglewood debut with the Boston Symphony in Lohengrin; a recording of the same opera for RCA Victor; a chamber music debut with Claude Frank and Lilian Kallir; an appearance as Porgy from Porgy and Bess in the 37th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; performances of Gentlemen, Be Seated! with New York City Opera; and an Avery Fisher Hall debut in 135th Street. Simpson re-matriculated at Columbia in 1968 to complete his dissertation. His studies culminated with a performance of the entire Schwanengesang of Schubert. Simpson was awarded his Doctoral Degree and, within a few weeks, accepted a faculty appointment at Virginia State College as Director of Choral Activities and Chairman of Voice. Two years later, Simpson accepted a position at Bowie State College as a full professor and Head of the Department of Music. In January of 1975, Simpson joined Glassboro State College as Chairman of the Department of Music. Early in his tenure, he supervised the purchase and installation of the new Wicks pipe organ, and its dedication by Virgil Fox. After five years as Chairman, Simpson turned his passions and talents to teaching voice and working with choirs and individual students. He developed a small madrigal group of a dozen or more singers into the Glassboro State College Chamber Choir (24 singers)—later the Rowan University Chamber Choir (36 singers). The Chamber Choir went on to perform at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London; Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris; St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome; Piaristenkirche in Vienna; Church of Las Calatravas in Madrid; as well as in Salzburg, St. Petersburg and Moscow. Additionally, they headlined The Carnegie Hall Festival of Spirituals; The Black History Concert Series; and the Music and the Spoken Word Telecast at the Mormon Tabernacle. Simpson’s larger university choral ensemble, the Choral Union, performed the major oratorio literature: Messiah, Elijah, Israel in Egypt, Faure Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Brahms Requiem, Duruflé Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert’s Mass in G. Simpson’s individual students won more than 100 top prizes in major vocal competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the NATS Artist Awards, the Leontyne Price Vocal Showcase, Metropolitan Opera Study Grants, Opera Index, Marian Anderson Auditions, Mozarteum Scholarship, National Opera Association Competition. They have sung in leading venues, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Opera Philadelphia, Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, as well as in Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. As a choral arranger, Simpson signed a contract with Bourne Co. in 1973, who published his series of Choral Spirituals. The first of these, “Hold On,” remains a perennial favorite. “Sinnuh Please Don’t Let This Harves’ Pass,” was performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during tours of Europe, Russia and Israel. Other works in the series include: “Nobody Knows de Trouble I’ve Seen,” “You Must Have that True Religion,” “Steal Away to Jesus,” “Too Late Sinnuh,” and “Let Us Break Bread Together.” Highly esteemed as a guest conductor, Simpson was the first African American to conduct the Florida All-State Chorus. He conducted the North Carolina All-State twice, as well as all-state choirs in South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New York and Georgia. He appeared with the National Choral Council’s Messiah Sing-Ins at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, the Academy of Music, and at Ocean Grove. Active as a national choral adjudicator, Simpson served on the Choral Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. Simpson was Executor for the estate of American composer Hall Johnson, and curator for the Hall Johnson Collection for 31 years. In 1988 Simpson produced the 3-day Hall Johnson Centennial Festival, featuring the Chamber Choir, comprised of five solo recitals, three choral concerts, and headliners Jester Hairston, William Warfield and Leonard De Paur. The festival was one of Simpson’s many endeavors to memorialize the work and legacy of Johnson and to educate the public about his many contributions. Simpson retired from Rowan University in 2000 and turned to new projects. In 2008, Scarecrow Press published his definitive biography of Hall Johnson, Hall Johnson: His Life, His Spirit, and His Music. Simpson’s self-published works include A Host of Angels (2011), which profiled people who contributed to his musical success; Schwanengesang: Schubert’s Last Songs (2013), a study guide for Schubert singers; and The Hall Johnson Concert Spirituals: An Annotated Guide to Interpretation and Performance (2015). In 2013, the archival material from the Hall Johnson Collection found a permanent home in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. For Johnson’s personal books and recordings, Dr. Simpson founded and endowed a collection at the University of Georgia in Athens, Johnson’s birthplace. In 2014, Simpson edited 19 Hall Johnson Concert Spirituals for digital publication by Hal Leonard, and founded the National Association of Teachers of Singing Biennial Hall Johnson Spirituals Competition, endowing the first-place prize from 2016 to 2036. Simpson is mourned by his son, Eugene Tyra (Monica Harold) of Vineland, NJ, daughter Adrienne Adele of Philadelphia, PA, their mother, Ingres, and his grandchildren Myra, Callie, and Tyra Jr. His legacy is celebrated by a host of cousins, international colleagues and friends, and the many students and vocalists he taught, mentored and inspired. Interment will be at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland, on Monday, May 17th at 1 PM. In recognition of Eugene Thamon Simpson’s lifelong commitment to musical excellence, and in support of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s ongoing efforts to make classical music accessible to all people, the family requests that memorial donations be directed to The Philadelphia Orchestra: One South Broad Street, 14th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, or www.philorch.org.