Michael Iatauro Remembered

Many SCI members are probably unaware that Michael Iatauro, a former co-chair of Region VII in the early 90s, passed away on February 14, 1996 after a struggle with lung cancer. The high point of his tenure as co-chair was an intimate regional he organized at his school, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, in Socorro. In view of the fact that he was a one-man department, the meeting was something of a small miracle. Musicians from Albuquerque, seventy miles away, were summoned to play, and this led to many scheduling problems, but still the meeting did happen, and it had a very "homey" feel about it and those of us who attended were glad we came.

A native New Yorker, Michael graduated from the famed New York High School of Music and Art. How many of us have wished for a start like that! Later he received his B.M. degree from the Manhattan School of Music, an M.M. in Music Education/Supervision at Central Michigan University, and did extensive graduate work at the University of Colorado. His principal teachers of composition were Vittorio Giannini, Cecil Effinger, and David Diamond.

As a performer he appeared in many different areas: television, radio, recordings, Broadway musicals, Carnegie and Town Hall concerts in New York, and even led a jazz trio for three years.

His articles on music and music education appeared in many national journals, magazines, and newspapers, and even had poetry published in the CMS Symposium.

He composed music in a wide variety of styles ranging from jazz to serial music. He was part of the University of New Mexico's 1991 Composers Symposium and also participated in the Ernest Bloch Music Festival in Oregon in 1990. Adapting to the New Mexico area, many of his compositions reflected a western influence such as his Westward Movements for string quartet and narrator, and his Southwest Cantos, a vocalise song cycle for soprano and piano/synthesizer. His music has been published by Peer-Southern and G. Schirmer. He was also a member of CMS, MENC, ACDA, and ASCAP.

In view of the scarcity of SCI members from New Mexico, the passing of Michael Iatauro has left a serious gap in Region VII which we hope will be filled with new members from that area so that we may arrange a concert in Michael's memory.

Marshall Bialosky
Region VII co-chair