John W. Downey

Downey has said, “I teach because I truly believe that I have an obligation to pass on to future generations the knowledge which I have been privileged to attain.” A full-length biography was published by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Press in 2005

John Downey died on December 18, 2004 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Downey often collaborated with his wife of 48 years, Irusha Downey, a linguist, translator, pianist and poet who preceded him in death in 2000. Her poem A Dolphin, set to music by Downey, is one of his most frequently performed compositions. She also performed Adagio Lyrico for two pianos with Downey (the first title of this composition was “Adagio pour les morts” and it is dedicated to Downey’s brother Jimmie, who died in 1944).

Downey inspired students of music, composition and theory at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for 35 years, before retiring in 1998 as Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music. He was Founder and Director of the Wisconsin Contemporary Music Forum as well as Director of Theory for Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.

A native of Chicago, Downey earned a Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University and a Master of Music from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, while working at night as a jazz pianist. Downey was later awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study with his mentors Honegger, Milhaud and Boulanger in Paris where he earned a Prix de Composition from the Paris Conservatoire National de Musique and a Ph.D. (Docteur ès lettres) from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. Given the honorable title of “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” for his scholarly achievements, Downey was knighted by the French government in 1980.

Downey has been the recipient of many prestigious honors and commissions, some of which are from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, ASCAP, Copley Foundation, Millay Colony, Moebius Foundation, MacDowell Colony, Hartt School of Music, Rutgers University, Butler University, University of Wisconsin, Bennington College, Lawrence University, Fine Arts Quartet, Woodwind Arts Quartet, Milwaukee Symphony, Wisconsin Arts Board, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, MacDowell Club of Milwaukee and Wisconsin String Academy. His recording Agort was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1973. In 1990, the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters bestowed upon Downey the Walter Heinrichsen Award. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.

John W. Downey (October 5, 1927 – December 18, 2004) was a contemporary classical composer, conductor, pianist and educator. His works have been performed extensively in Western and Eastern Europe, South America, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Asia, Mexico and Canada, as well as throughout the United States.