Carlisle Floyd honored with National Medal of Arts

Written By

Molly Sheridan

Carlisle Floyd
Photo courtesy Boosey & Hawkes

President Bush has recognized the contributions of composer and librettist Carlisle Floyd to American cultural life with a National Medal of Arts. Floyd, one of eight artists and arts patrons so recognized this year, was in Washington, D.C., this afternoon for the official presentation of the award in the Oval Office.

Speaking from his hotel room this morning, Floyd said he was stunned when NEA Chairman Dana Gioia first called with the news. “It’s the last thing in the world I expected,” Floyd said. “As a matter of fact, I told [Gioia] at dinner last night that I thought he was calling to ask me to be on a [NEA] panel. It never occurred to me that it was this remarkable honor.”

Floyd is most widely known for penning operas that draw on American folk and religious music traditions, such as Susannah (which has had four productions by the New York City Opera alone since its premiere there in 1956) and Of Mice and Men based on John Steinbeck’s classic tale. A novel was once again the muse for Floyd’s most recent operatic production, Cold Sassy Tree, which received its premiere at Houston Grand Opera in April 2000. The Virgin Classics recording of Susannah won a Grammy for Best Opera Recording in 1995.

Composers who have won the National Medal of Arts

Each year the National Endowment for the Arts solicits nominations for the National Medal of Arts from the public. Nominations are reviewed by the National Council on the Arts, and a list of nominees is forwarded to the President for consideration with candidates of the President’s own choosing. Since its establishment by Congress in 1984, more than 200 patrons and artists in the fields of visual, performing and literary arts have been honored.

George Strait—2003
George Jones—2002
Johnny Cash—2001
Benny Carter—2000
Betty Carter—1997
Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero—1996
Lionel Hampton—1996
Stephen Sondheim—1996
David Diamond—1995
Dave Brubeck—1994
Pete Seeger—1994
Billy Taylor—1992
Virgil Thomson—1988
William Schuman—1987
Aaron Copland—1986
Elliott Carter—1985

Though there is often talk about the diminishing place for serious music in modern America, Floyd is not so pessimistic. In his experience, serious music is alive and well. “Certainly my career has continued to flourish, so there’s still an audience out there. We can’t compete with the rock-and-rollers or the entertainment side, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not validity in what we do.”

Born in 1926, Floyd earned degrees in piano and composition at Syracuse University. His teaching career has included positions at Florida State University and the University of Houston. In addition, he is a co-founder of the Houston Opera Studio, a training and performance program for young artists.

Floyd has also composed a number of non-operatic works such as the orchestral song cycle, Citizen of Paradise, based on poems and letters of Emily Dickinson, and A Time to Dance, a large-scale work for chorus, bass-baritone soloist, and orchestra.

These days Floyd spends much of his time keeping up with performances of his work, which is published by Boosey & Hawkes. “I suppose you could call that looking after the children,” he said with a laugh.