James Helme Sutcliffe

James Helme Sutcliffe was born 26 November 1929 in Suzhou (China). In the late 1930s the Second Sino-Japanese War was in full operation and the Japanese army had occupied large parts of the Chinese coast including Suzhou. In 1941 the Sutcliffe family fled and emigrated to Australia. James Helme Sutcliffe received his first musical education (piano, viola and music theory) at Geelong College from George Logie-Smith and later at Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music from Roy Shepherd. He then moved to the USA and completed his studies at the Juilliard School and at the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers.
From 1959 to 1963 James Helme Sutcliffe lectured at the Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Then he moved to Germany where he first worked as a repetiteur, then finally settled in Berlin and mainly worked as a music critic and writer. He wrote for the International Herald Tribune and nearly all important opera magazines.
James Helme Sutcliffe died on 11 December 2000 in Berlin (Germany).

The work catalogue of James Helme Sutcliffe contains a Sinfonietta, an Elegy for wind orchestra, an Academy Festival March (that became the Alma Mater for the University of North Carolina), "The dancing master" for string orchestraa wind quintet, string quartet and other chamber music and songs.

Elegy for wind orchestra

In my possession is the autograph working manuscript and fair copy of the "Elegie" for wind orcheestra by James Herme Sutcliffe. The work was composed in 1959 during his time at the Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and is dedicated to his parents. The work calls for a large wind orchestra with harp, percussion and two string basses. The work was premiered in June 1959 by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra under Robert Austin Boudreau.