Loading...
Creator
Thorne, Francis
Call number
JPB 06-65
Physical description
35.5 linear feet (38 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Francis Thorne Papers, JPB 06-65, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Francis Thorne is an American composer. Most of his was work created in the late 20th Century. He has composed over 100 works, including symphonies, concerti, string quartets, as well as chamber music, choral music and songs. In addition to composing, he has been active in music administration, being a founding member of the American Composers Orchestra. He has been President/Treasurer of the Thorne Music Fund as well as the Executive Director of the Music Theatre Group, and American Composers Alliance. His music is published by Merion Music, Inc. and distributed by Theodore Presser Company. This collection consists mainly of scores. There are also office files.

Biographical/historical information

Francis Burritt Thorne Jr. was born June 23, 1922 in Bay Shore, New York. He attended Yale University studying music with Paul Hidemith. Thorne graduated in 1942. He joined the United States Navy during World War II. After the war he worked in both the banking industry and as a stock broker on Wall Street.

In 1955 Thorne abandoned the banking industry and try his hand again at music. Duke Ellington recommended Thorne to Manhattan’s Hickory House, his first professional job as a jazz pianist. In 1958 Thorne moved his family to Florence, Italy in the hopes of studying composition with Luigi Dallapiccola. Because Dallapiccola had recently returned to the United States, Thorne became a private student of David Diamond for two years.

Thorne combined his passion for the western traditional music with jazz. His first seminal work was the Nocturnes for voice and piano. His first big success as a professional composer was the work Elegy. Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra premiered the work in 1964.

Thorne has produced on average from two to five works a year in variety of genres since the early sixties. To date his twenty-three orchestral works include five symphonies, several works for wind ensemble, four string quartets, a number of works for mixed chamber ensemble, and numerous vocal and choral works, including the opera Mario and the Magician.

Thorne was the founder and administrator of the Thorne Music Fund from 1965-1974. The fund awarded composers three-year fellowships, so that they could concentrate on their music. Thorne has served as the executive director of the Naumburg Foundation and the American Composers Alliance. He has also been the President and co-Founder of the American Composers Orchestra.

In 1985 he received the Commendation of Excellence award from the Broadcast Music, Inc. In 1987 he received the Laurel Leaf Award from the American Composers Alliance. He was elected in 1988 to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Thorne lives with his wife Ann in New York City. The couple has three daughters and four grandsons.

Scope and arrangement

The collection predominately contains scores composed by Francis Thorne. These include sketches, piano/vocal scores, full scores, and orchestral parts. In addition the collection also has office files. Included within these are biographical essays, correspondence, yearly files with clippings of Thorne music performed, stock dividend statements, a few photographs, and programs. There is also information about the Thorne Music Fund, Inc. There is limited personal material in the collection.

The Francis Thorne papers are arranged in three series:

  • Series I: Scores
    1956 - 2004

    This series contains scores composed by Francis Thorne. Included are full scores, orchestral parts, and piano/vocal scores. Also included are sketches. Among some of the titles are: Centennial Fanfare, Lyric Variations No. 4, Pop Partia, String Quartet, and Violin Concerto.

  • Series II: Office Music Files
    1963 - 1992

    This series contains music files—these files are a chronicle of music composed by Thorne and performed during a calendar year. Also included is yearly information about the Thorne Music Fund, Inc. There is also limited amount of correspondence, biographical essays, photographs, programs, festival advertisements, stock dividends, and a script.

  • Series III: Oversized Scores

    This series contains oversized scores, including Cello Concerto No. 2, Mario and the Magician,Praise and Thanksgiving, and Symphony No. 5.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Francis Thorne Papers were donated to the Music Division in 2005 by Francis Thorne.

Processing information

Processed by Leslie Reyman; Machine-readable finding aid created by Leslie Reyman.

Using the collection

Location

Music Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Chief, Music Division.

Alternative form available

Three lyrical songs, 1944: 1. Looking up / H. Moss ; 2. Sleep now / J. Joyce ; 3. The world is too much with us / W. Wordswarth (box 25, f. 6) Available in microfilm as part of the Francis Thorne papers; service copy classmark: *ZB-4359