Albright, William
Biography
Born: October 20, 1944; Gary, Indiana, U.S.A
Died: September 17, 1998
Country: Gary, Indiana, U.S.A
Studies: University of Michigan (B.M.1966, D.M.A.1970), Paris Cons.
Teachers: Ross Lee Finney, George Rochberg, Olivier Messiaen
Albright was born in Gary, Indiana, and began learning the piano at the age of five, and attended the Juilliard Preparatory Department (1959–62), the Eastman School of Music (1962–63) and the University of Michigan (1962–70), where he studied composition with Ross Lee Finney and George Rochberg, and organ with Marilyn Mason. He interrupted his studies for the 1968–69 academic year when he received a Fulbright scholarship to study with Olivier Messiaen in Paris. Upon his graduation in 1970 he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Michigan, where he taught until his death from liver failure in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1998 (Griffiths 1998).
His music combined elements of tonal and non-tonal classical music (in particular the influence of Messiaen) with American popular music and non-Western music (Gillespie 2001), in what has been described as "polystylistic" or "quaquaversal" music (Chambers 1999, 32)—which makes the definition of an overall style difficult (Perone 1988, abstract). In particular, he was an enthusiast for ragtime (Bassett 1999, 28–29). In addition to his compositional and teaching activities, he pursued an active career as an organist and commissioned new works for this instrument from other contemporary composers to play on his concert tours of North America and Europe (Griffiths 1998). His hymns appear in hymnals of the Unitarian and Episcopalian Churches.
Albright's notable students include Derek Bermel, John Edgar Berners, John Burke, Evan Chambers, Chihchun Chi-sun Lee, Katt Hernandez, Gabriela Lena Frank, David Karl Gompper, Sam Davis, Evan Hause, Carter Pann, Frank Ticheli, Gordon Beeferman and Michael Sidney Timpson.[1]
Works for Percussion
Bells in the Air - Percussion Trio, Orchestra
Daydream - Percussion Trio
Dream and Dance - Multiple Percussion
Enigma Syncopations - Multiple Percussion, Organ, Flute, Double Bass
Halo - Multiple Percussion, Organ
Stipendium peccati - Multiple Percussion, Organ, Piano
Take That - Percussion Quartet
References