Herbert Owen Reed was born in Odessa, Missouri in 1910. He received a bachelor’s degree in music, bachelor’s degree in French, and master’s degree in music, each from Louisiana State University. Then he received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of Rochester. He served as a professor of music theory and composition at Michigan State University from 1939 to 1976. His published compositions include a variety of works for orchestra, band, voices, opera, and chamber music, plus nine books on music theory and composition. Reed also spent time traveling and studying music in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Norway along with extensively studying American Indian music in New Mexico and Arizona. Reed’s most famous work is La Fiesta Mexicana, composed in 1949 with the support of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is an Orpheus Award member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and recipient of the National Arts Award from Sigma Alpha Iota. Reed passed away at the age of 103 on January 6, 2014.
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