Biography and Kay Family > Later Life
Kay did a fair amount of conducting, including the premiers of his "Suite for Strings," first performed by the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra on April 18, 1949; the "Suite from 'The Quiet One,'" first performed by the New York Little Symphony on November 19, 1948; "Presidential Suite," first performed by the Greater Boston Youth Symphony on March 13, 1966; and "Chariots," first performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra on August 8, 1979.
Among the many tributes extended to Ulysses Kay was his serving as composer-in-residence at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy in 1982, where this photograph was taken. He received six honorary doctorates during his life, and attended a number of special "All-Ulysses Kay Concerts" and "Ulysses Kay Days" held at many colleges and universities including Lehman College, and even a "Ulysses Kay Week" held in the Boston area in 1988 when Harvard, Tufts, Northeastern, and the University of Massachusetts (Harbor campus) presented a series of all-Kay concerts from March 9 to 14.