UK School of Music Scholarships and Grants

John Barnes Chance Composition Award

John Barnes Chance (1932-1972) was a distinguished composer who served on the UK School of Music faculty at the time of his accidental death in 1972. Throughout his short career, Chance composed for band, orchestra, chorus, chamber groups and solo instruments. Recipients shall be music majors who demonstrate talent and potential as composers. The award is based on a student composition competition. Established in 1972.

Chance was born in Beaumont, Texas. In high school he played percussion in the school orchestra and began composing. Chance went on to study at the University of Texas where he received both bachelor's and master's degrees. His composition teachers included Clifton Williams, Kent Kennan, and Paul Pick. After studying at the University of Texas, Chance played timpani in the Austin Symphony Orchestra. He also played percussion, conducted and arranged music for the Fourth U.S. Army Band in San Antonio. Later, he joined the Eighth U.S. Army Band in Korea. After his discharge from the army, Chance was selected by the Ford Foundation to be part of the Young Composers Project. He was composer-in-residence from 1960 to 1962 at Greensboro, North Carolina public schools. There he composed seven pieces for school ensembles including his first work for band, Nocturne and Dance, which later became Incantation and Dance. Chance's brief yet successful career was ended abruptly when he was accidentally electrocuted in the back yard of his home in Lexington, Kentucky in 1972 at the age of 40.