Finding Aid for Robert Wykes Music and Papers, ca. 1940-2018 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: Robert Wykes Music and Papers, ca. 1940-2018

ID: 26/20/260

Primary Creator: Robert Wykes (1926-2021)

Extent: 1.5 cubic feet

Arrangement: Unarranged, being processed

Date Acquired: 05/22/2024

Subjects: Alumni, Composers, Music, School of

Languages: English

Consists of scores of original compositions, music notes and sketches, correspondence, and essays documenting Robert Wykes' education and career as a composer; in addition to books, music, and programs related to his students and associates.

Robert Wykes was an American composer and flutist born May 19, 1926 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He began playing the flute at age 9 and appeared with the Pittsburgh Little Symphony as a teenager. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, Wykes attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York to study music theory, earning his Master's degree in 1950. From 1950-1952, he was on faculty at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and played flute with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. From 1952-1955, he continued his studies at the Univeristy of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, earning hist Doctor of Musical Arts in 1955. In adddition to studying music composition with Burrill Phillips and music theory with Hubert Kessler, Wykes also taught music theory during his time at UIUC.

In 1955, he joined the music faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he taught until his retirement in 1988. Some of his students included Oliver Nelson, Jocy de Oliveira, Rhian Samuel, and Olly Wilson. From 1963-1967, Wykes played flute with the St. Louis Symphony and with the Studio for New Music from 1966-1969. From 1990-1991, he undertook research as a visiting scholar at Stanford Univerisity. Additional achievements of Wykes' include having his orchestral works performed throughout the country, scoring several films, and recieving awards and honors including the Distinguished Faculty Award from Washington University in 1976. Wykes died in St. Louis, Missouri on June 29, 2021.

Alumni
Composers
Music, School of

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Acquisition Source: MPAL

Acquisition Method: Transfer