CORDES LANGLEY

LANGLEY--Cordes Jeffrey. Cordes Jeffrey Langley, a composer and arts visionary, died of cancer on November 10 in Asheville, NC. He was 70. Born and raised in Ukiah, CA, Jeff attended the University of California, Berkeley from 1969-1972, studying music and subsequently toured the United States with Holly Near, composing songs and recording three albums. In 1973, they performed at military bases around the Pacific Rim as well as sixty U.S. cities in partnership with Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden. In 1975, he joined them to visit North and South Vietnam as a U.S. cultural delegate. During these years he was also creating theatrical works for the stage. His score for the Mark Taper Forum production of "Volpone" premiered in 1972. In 1976, Jeff moved to New York City to earn his Doctorate of Musical Composition at The Juilliard School. Key compositions from that era include: "Lyric Essay for Orchestra," 1978; Piano Sonata, 1979, "Levertov Cantata," 1979, and an opera, "The Autumn People" with librettist Amanda McTigue. He joined the Juilliard teaching faculty in 1980. He continued to write works for musical and cabaret stages. Collaborators included Ronnie Gilbert and Pete Seeger on the 1984 HARP album. In 1995, he composed a second opera based on Jess Mowry's seminal novel "Way Past Cool" with librettist Kathleen Masterson. Jeff joined the faculty of Sonoma State University in 1997 as Director and Chair of the Departments of Performing Arts. From 1999 until his retirement in 2014, he served as one of the creative founders and Artistic Director of the Green Music Center at SSU. In his retirement in Asheville, NC, he put the finishing touches on a final song cycle, "So Much Heaven." Whether composing in popular or more complex classical forms, Jeff believed that music could and should speak to everyone. That was the code by which he wrote, evoking, for all kinds of listeners, the depths and heights of human experience. It was also the code by which he lived, lifting people - individuals and institutions - toward their highest dreams. Jeff Langley is survived by his partner of 45 years, Robert Kertzner; siblings Catherine Langley Elawadly, Edgar James Langley, and Edith Eleanor Langley, and nephews and niece William and Nicholas Powers, Eric Herbert, and Nihal Elawadly. Donations in his memory may be made to the Green Family - Green Music Center Endowment Fund at: https://tinyurl.com/GMCendow
A celebration of Jeff's life and work will take place next summer.