Joseph Clokey

Joseph Waddell Clokey (b. New Albany, August 28, 1890 – d. Covina, California, September 14, 1960) – Composer, educator, and organist. A son of a Presbyterian minister, Joseph W. Clokey grew up mainly in Ohio, where his interest in organ playing inspired him to pursue a music career. He studied music at Miami University with Edgar Stillman Kelley, a well-known American composer at the turn of the century. In 1915 – three years after college graduation – he returned to his alma mater to teach organ and music theory. After leaving Ohio in 1926, he taught organ at Ponoma College in Claremont, California, until 1939. From 1939 to 1946, he was back at Miami University, where he served as the Dean of the School of Fine Arts. (At one point, a building on campus was named Clokey Hall in his honor.) Although Clokey did not publish any compositions until 1920, his total output includes two symphonies, one string quartet, one cello sonata, one violin sonata, five operas, and twelve large-scale choral works in addition to numerous organ works (including suites) and over 100 choral anthems. While many of his secular works were written for campus performances, some of his sacred choral pieces were among the most popular selections in American churches on the 1950s.