Every year, from 1951 almost to his death, Klaus Roy composed a family Christmas card. View a near-complete collection of these cards (along with select Christmas Card images by his daughter Melissa) and listen to his own piano recordings of those holiday tunes.

Compositional styles varied from mini tone poems to canons and fanfares. It was not unusual for the pieces to carry gentle political messages, dedications to other musicians, or thematic references to, for example, Eastern European or Native American music. For many years, the score’s “B side” featured cartoon images by Klaus Roy’s daughter Melissa or a photograph from his and wife Gene’s many travels.

Christmas Card artwork by Melissa Roy, 1981

Christmas Card artwork by Melissa Roy, 1971 and 1976