Neal Tate

From his obituary…

Cornelius (Neal) A. Tate, 77, of State College, PA died Friday, November 4, 2005.

Born November 17, 1927, in Yonkers, he was the son of the late Cornelius A. and Sally Quattlebaum Tate. He is survived by his wife, Jean Tate, a brother and his nine children.

Neal was an accomplished composer, arranger and pianist. He studied at the Julliard School of Music and the New York University. Neal worked with artists including Gregory Hines, Oscar Brown, Jr., Nipsy Russell, Cab Calloway and Debbie Allen. He has composed music for numerous artists, films, dance/theatre companies and commercials, as well as written orchestrations for Broadway, various repertory companies and symphonies. His Broadway direction credits include Hair (which gave him the distinction of being the 1st African-American musical director on Broadway), Ain’t Misbehavin’, Finian’s Rainbow, and The Me Nobody Knows.

Tate has been named the Musical Director-Emeritus for the Saint Louis Black Repertory Company. His local credits with the company extend from its 21st to 27th seasons, most recently including The Late Great Ladies of Blues and Jazz (featuring Sandra Reeves-Phillips) and Raisin. In 2000, The Black Rep honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Woodie King Jr. Awards Ceremony.

Neal spent most of his life in New York, but relocated to the Milwaukee area in 1995, and most recently settled in State College, PA with his newly wedded wife, Jean.