Thomas E. Barker 73
Classical Composer

by: Janice Goodfellow Carter

According to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Thomas E. Barker has distinguished himself as Georgia's first classical composer to gain national prominence. In October, 1986,Tom Barker was invited to attend the performance of his original composition at Atlanta's Symphony Hall for the New Music Project, a service of the American Symphony Orchestra League. The former Lovett student's work was conducted by Louis Lane,the principal guest conductor of the Atlanta Symphony. His work, en-titled, Four Sets for Orchestra, is apiece which introduces the listener to the different sections of the orchestra,separately, in combinations, and,then, in its entirety.

Tom has composed over seventy musical compositions since his first original work which he created while a senior at Lovett. His gift for musical composition developed early. At the age of ten, he began his serious musical studies with Merrill Dilbeck; by the age of fourteen, he was corresponding with New York to obtain courses in music theory, counter-point and harmony. In his high school years, he participated in the Lovett Chorale and the Drama Club where he focused on the technical aspects of acoustics, lighting and stage management. He was soccer and track manager but was rarely found without his guitar. Tom's most creative experience at Lovett involved the establishment of "The Shuffling Hungarians", a jazz group composed of Tom, Peter Brown,'74, Brad Currey,'73, John Yapp,'72 and Kevin Singletary. According to Tom, their 150 performances provided him with his first genuine outlet to write and perform jazz.

After Lovett, Tom won the Blair Academy of Music Fellowship at the Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1974, he moved to New York to pursue a full-time writing career. There, he received a Diploma from the Manhattan School of Music, a Bachelor's and Master's degree from the Juilliard School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Columbia University. In addition to making his grades and being responsible for the creation of original musical compositions, Tom was held accountable yearly for each of his eleven years of training to defend his music before a board of review. The intensity of these evaluations steeled him to academic scrutiny.

In addition to the New Music Project which brought Tom back to Georgia, he has received numerous distinctions. These awards and grants which provide him with the opportunity to create new music include the Jessie E. Cox Charitable Trust Fund Grant, The Connecticut Commission on the Arts - New England Foundation for the Arts Grant, the Charles E. Ives Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the selection as the American representative to the Belgium Millenium Festivities in Brussels, Belgium. Presently, Tom is a national finalist for the composer-in-residence search for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and he has recently received a new commission from the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. In addition, he maintains his professorial teaching schedule at Mercy College.

Obviously, Barker's major goal is to achieve enough economic stability whereby he could compose orchestral and chamber music without having to be fragmented in so many musical endeavors. Fully aware of the difficulty in achieving this objective, Tom is justifiably proud to acknowledge that he has never had to seek employment outside the field of music. That is a rare statement for a musician today.

Although Dr. Barker is a relatively young man in the musical world, his commitment to music reflects a time-honored American tradition - a desire to expose the common man to classical music. Tom believes that orchestral music should be brought more directly to all the people rather than exclusively to the urban and semi-urban world. His ties to the South and to southern music, in particular, are deep. Ideally, he envisions a time in the not too distant future, when Atlanta could establish a musical conservatory for the South. Because of the renown of the Atlanta Symphony, a closely related conservatory would provide the cultural environment where talented Southerners could receive valuable instruction without having to uproot themselves. "Georgia needs a conservatory like the Juilliard or the Manhattan School of Music," states Barker. "The growth of the Arts in Atlanta in the past twenty years has been phenomenal. The cultural pace of the city must balance with its economic growth. Atlanta is bursting with talent that needs to be developed at home."

Tom and his wife, Diana N. Smith, who is a talented orchestral violinist in her own right, hope to maintain their ties with the musical development of Atlanta. Meanwhile, Tom, Diana, and their Tuxedo cat, Tristan, will continue their urbane existence in the Big Apple.

The Lovett School is intensely proud of Dr. Barker's accomplishments. We hope to keep apprised of his achievements.



[Bill Barker, Tom's older brother]

John Cocking '86 and Bill Barker '71 are pictured at the North Carolina Invitational Soccer Tournament in Chapel Hill this past August. John and Bill were both top scoring soccer players during their Lovett years. Barker's record of 34 goals scored from 1969-71 was broken by Cocking who made 79 from 1984-86.

After Lovett, Barker went on to an outstanding career on the Rollins College soccer team where he led the scoring for his sophomore and junior years. He returned to coach for two seasons at Rollins and has remained active as a coach with the Florida Youth Soccer Association. Bill is now in his third year as assistant soccer coach at the University of Central Florida.