Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) was a modern composer strongly associated with the American academic tradition, which, in the middle decades of the 20th century, mostly favored modal tonality, dissonant counterpoint, and a broadly neo-Classical style. Yet Persichetti was capable of composing in all the idioms of his time, and his book Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice reveals techniques which he used masterfully. As an organist, pianist, conductor, and educator, Persichetti was widely influential, and his career was filled with many fellowships and honors. He wrote nine symphonies, three piano concertos, fifteen serenades, twelve piano sonatas, and numerous other pieces.