Charles Courtenaye Knox III

Charles Courtenaye Knox, III died on December 11, 2019, at Wesley Woods Towers in Atlanta where he had lived for fifteen months. He was an Atlanta native, a trombonist with the early Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a composer for half a century of not only traditional orchestral, chamber and choral music, but also of palindromes, a bassoon choir, a tuba octet, and a symphony for eleven saxophones and more.
Nickitas Demos, Director, Georgia State University School of Music said of Charles: “Dr. Knox was a deeply respected faculty member of the Georgia State University School of Music. His calm and gentle demeanor coupled with his formidable teaching skills and professional musical experience engendered deep respect from his colleagues and students alike. He always made time to assist members of the School of Music, whether it be a student who needed extra help or in service to a colleague. In his field of music theory and composition, Charles laid a very strong foundation within the School of Music. Although quiet and unassuming in nature and not one to overly promote his own music, Charles was a gifted composer whose highly original and exquisitely crafted work helped to elevate the prestige of the School of Music composition program. The current strength of music theory and composition at Georgia State University is due to Charles who exemplified the role of creative artist, scholar, pedagogue, colleague and friend.”
Charles was born at the old Emory Hospital on Clifton Road in Atlanta, GA, on April 29, 1929, to Janet Ryder Knox and Charles C. Knox, Jr. His father worked on the railroad and his mother worked as a secretary during the great Depression. The family lived in Inman Park throughout his boyhood.
After several years in elementary school of playing the piano (at his mother’s insistence!), he told her that he wanted to join the junior high band so he could practice around other people. He approached the bandmaster who told him they needed a clarinet and a trombone, and said “you chose!” Charles chose the trombone and walked to lessons in Little Five Points. He marched with the heavy trombone for years at Bass High, Tech High, the University of Georgia on scholarship for the UGA football band, and the Third Army Band at Fort McPherson. While in college and later at Fort McPherson, he played in bands and jazz groups, declaring that he never had the time to learn to dance!
While still in high school, he was chosen by his teacher, Owen Seitz, to play in the Atlanta Youth Orchestra, unpaid, which became the Atlanta Symphony. When he was promoted to principal chair, he was finally paid and was able to buy a large bass trombone and join the union.
Dr. Knox received his B.F.A. in music from the University of Georgia, where he joined the Phi Mu Sinfonia music fraternity, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He subsequently earned both his M.Mus. and Ph. D. degrees from Indiana University where he studied composition with Bernhard Heiden. He was Professor Emeritus of Music at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where he was a member of the faculty from 1965 to 1995.
While serving at Fort McPherson during the Korean Conflict he met Ruth Elizabeth McSwain (Betty) on a blind date. The couple married in 1954 and they left for his job in the music department of Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi to be near Betty’s parents. In 1968, Betty and Charles moved to Candler Park where they warmly welcomed the influx of younger residents. They were involved in several major neighborhood activities including the Community Star Newspaper, the Crime Watch block parties, and Page Avenue Yard sales. Both agreed that Page Avenue was the best street in Candler Park!
Betty and Charles joined Druid Hills Presbyterian Church in 1969. She was an active member of the church’s outreach ministries including the Child Development Center and Community Fellowship where anyone who came was fed, and Intown Community Assistance which supplied food and clothing to those in need. Betty died in 2009 after an extended illness.
Dr. Knox was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; the American Composers Forum; the Society of Composers, Inc., and the American Music Center.
Dr. Knox was the recipient of the 2001 Mayor’s Fellowship in the Arts (Award in Music) from the City of Atlanta, Georgia (USA). He was often referred to as the “Dean of Atlanta composers” to which he replied “basically, that just means I’m old”.
Over 100 of Dr. Knox’s works are archived at the Georgia State University Library. Examples of his chamber works can be found in audio format on two compact discs, Clouds Are Not Spheres (1997, Albany Records #254) and 2002: Chamber Music of Charles Knox (2000, ACA Digital #ACD 20066).
Dr. Knox’s survivors include former colleagues and students, Candler Park neighbors, friends from Druid Hills Presbyterian Church where he was a long time member and Elder Emeritus, friends at Wesley Woods Towers and Anne Nicolson, his late-in-life partner.
His life and music will be remembered and celebrated on Saturday, January 25, 2020, at 11 A.M. at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church, 1026 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, Georgia 30306.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in his memory to the Georgia State University Foundation Music Department for the Lucile Allen Memorial Scholarship, Druid Hills Presbyterian Church Organ Restoration Fund, the Atlanta Humane Society, and The Salvation Army of Atlanta.