The following article, reprinted here with the permission of the Executive Director of the Raleigh Civic Symphony Association, appeared in the program for the concert given on the afternoon of November 17 in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the NCSU Music Department and in tribute to their orchestra program’s long-time artistic director, who retired at the end of last season:
“Dr. Randolph Foy, Director of Orchestral Activities, NC State University, holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the University of Iowa (organ) and a doctorate (conducting) from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. His teachers have included David Boe and Fenner Douglass (organ) and Frederick Prausnitz (conducting), and John Spitzer (musicology; dissertation “Textural Transformations: The Instrumental Music of Krzysztof Penderecki, 1960-73”).
“He has conducted in the Baltimore/Washington area, and has taught at the University of Richmond, NC School of Science and Mathematics (founding faculty) and NC School of the Arts. In addition to his teaching and administrative duties as Associate Director of the Department of Music, NC State, Dr. Foy has conducted and taught at the Governor’s School of NC in Winston-Salem, a summer program for gifted high school students.
“He has been called “an inspired and inspiring director” and “a totally committed musician whose mission is to spark in his audience the same level of enthusiasm that he clearly feels.” In May, 2006, Dr. Foy was awarded the City of Raleigh Medal of Arts for presenting a wide variety of concerts of unusual repertoire that enhance the cultural life of the community.
“Dr. Randolph Foy joined the NCSU Department of Music in August 1998. As conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra, orchestras comprised equally of student and community musicians, Dr. Foy was recognized for his commitment to programming contemporary music, presenting concerts in a thematic context and connecting orchestral repertoire to larger ideas in creative ways. Audiences and musicians eagerly explored familiar repertoire in innovative contexts while experiencing new and unfamiliar pieces in ways that made them accessible.
“In 2007, Dr. Foy was recognized with the Outstanding Extension Service Award by NC State University’s Office of Extension and Engagement for the “North Carolina Connections” concert series. The series included three concerts of music from North Carolina. The first featured local pianist Greg McCallum and symphony musicians at the NC Museum of History. In the second, McCallum played Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 as well as works by Salem Moravians, John Cage, Lou Harrison and Mark Scearce. The third concert premiered Ted Gellar’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, on NC slave narratives. Bartók, Cage, and Harrison all spent time composing in the western part of the state.
“The orchestra program at NC State University is supported jointly by Arts NC State and the non-profit Raleigh Civic Symphony Association. It is with great pride and appreciation that we recognize Dr. Randolph Foy for his many contributions to the arts and education both at NCSU and throughout the state.”
