Alice Tully

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Alice Tully ( September 14, 1902 – December 10, 1993 ) was a U.S. singer, music promoter and philanthropist.

She spent her high school years at the famous Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut. Tully began her career as a mezzo-soprano, then became a soprano. She studied in Paris, France, and made her debut in 1927 with the Pasdeloup Orchestra. In 1933, she appeared in Cavalleria Rusticana in New York City.

In 1958, Tully inherited the estate of her grandfather, William Houghton, founder of the Corning Glass Works. During the rest of her life, she donated much of her income to arts institutions. Her cousin, Arthur Houghton Jr., one of the founders of the Lincoln Center, suggested that she give money for a chamber music hall, which came to be known as the Alice Tully Hall.

Tully chaired the board of directors of the New York Chamber Music Society, and served on the boards of the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and the Juilliard School.

In 1970, Tully was awarded the Handel Medallion for her contributions to the cultural life of New York City. Her most famous commission was for Oliver Messiaen who composed Des Canyons aux étoiles which had it first preformace in the Alice Tully Hall in 1974.

William Schuman, Gian-Carlo Menotti and Riccardo Malipiero dedicated works to her.

[edit] Sources

• Fuller, A., Alice Tully: An Intimate Portrait, 1999, University of Illinois Press. (Excerpts available online at Google Books)
• Kozinn, A., 'Alice Tully Is Dead at 91; Lifelong Patron of the Arts', New York Times December 11, 1993. Available online
• 'Alice Tully - philanthropist - Obituary', Dance Magazine, March 1994. Available online via findarticles.com