“I was born in this state, so I’m still here … it’s a great place to be.” – Cecil Effinger
What could be more appropriate for a Colorado-based orchestra than performing music composed by a native son? Cecil Effinger (SESS-il EFF-inger) was born, raised, and lived most of his life in Colorado. When he was young, Effinger met Igor Stravinsky, who had come to Colorado Springs for the health benefits of its hot springs and arid climate. Effinger played oboe with the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra during the 1930s, and also served as the Denver Symphony’s principal oboe from 1938-1941.
Like many American composers of his generation, Effinger studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in France, just before World War II began. During the war, Effinger was stationed at Fort Logan in Denver, where he directed the 506th Army Band. In 1948, Effinger joined the faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he taught music theory, composition for the next 33 years; he also served as the university’s composer in residence from 1981-84.
Effinger composed in many genres: symphonies, chamber works, operas, oratorios, cantatas, and a number of choral works; today he is best known for his Four Pastorales for Chorus and Solo Oboe. Stylistically, Effinger’s music reflects his abiding love of Colorado’s natural places. He had a gift for writing graceful, pensive melodies, and his music evokes the wide-open expanse of Western prairies and mountain ranges. Something of a mid-century Romantic during a time when avant-garde and atonal styles of music were dominant, Effinger described his own approach as “atonal tonality,” a style grounded in a tonal framework that also included significant side trips into dissonant areas.
In addition to writing music, Effinger was also a successful inventor. In 1954 he patented a musical typewriter; fifteen years later, Effinger invented the Tempowatch, which can measure musical tempos in real time. Both inventions were popular and generated sales from customers around the world.
In his own program notes for Variations on a Cowboy Tune, Effinger said he first heard the main theme from a student at Colorado College. “I have not seen it in any cowboy song collection and it has no name as far as I know,” he continued. “It repeats over and over in ballad style, telling the story of a cowboy and his horse encountering a rattlesnake: ‘Jake’s horse did a figure eight/Jake did his addin’ just a bit too late.’”
© Elizabeth Schwartz