William Kraft

William Kraft

Biography

Born: September 6, 1923 - Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A

Country: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A

Studies: Columbia University (B.S.1951, M.A.1954), Juilliard

Teachers: Norman Lockwood, Henry Cowell, Jack Beeson, Otto Luening

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William Kraft (b. 1923, Chicago) has had a long and active career as composer, conductor, timpanist/percussionist and teacher. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he served for 11 years (1991 - 2002) as Chairman of the Composition Department and Corwin Professor of Music Composition. From 1981 -85, Mr. Kraft was the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Composer-in-Residence, for the first year under Philharmonic auspices, and the subsequent three years through the Meet the Composer program. During his residency, he was appointed by executive director Ernest Fleischmann to serve as the founding director of the orchestra's performing arm for contemporary music, the Philharmonic New Music Group. Mr. Kraft had previously been a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 26 years; eight years as percussionist, and 18 as Principal Timpanist. For three seasons, he was also assistant conductor of the orchestra, and thereafter, frequent guest conductor. (For more...)

Works for Percussion

Solos

2-4-1 - Snare Drum
A Trifle for Timothy - Multiple Percussion
Corrente II - Multiple Percussion
Da Dit - Multiple Percussion
Des Imagistes - Percussion Sextet; Narrator
Divinations - Multiple Percussion
English Suite - Multiple Percussion
French Suite - Multiple Percussion
Images - Timpani
L'Arlesienne - Multiple Percussion
Morris Dance - Multiple Percussion
M'SP - Timpani
Passacaglia - Percussion Solo
Theme and Metric Variations - Multiple Percussion
Two Drums in the Shape of an Etude - Multiple Percussion
Variations for King George - Timpani

Percussion Solos with Orchestra

Concerto for Solo Percussion and Chamber Ensemble - Multiple Percussion; Orchestra
Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra (Kraft) - Timpani; Orchestra
Concerto No. 2 for Timpani and Orchestra, XIII The Grand Encounter - Timpani; Orchestra
Three Miniatures for Percussion and Orchestra - Solo - Multiple Percussion; Orchestra
Triangles: Concerto for Percussion and Ten Instruments - Multiple Percussion; Chamber Ensemble

Percussion Solos with Strings

Music for String Quartet and Percussion - Multiple Percussion; String Quartet

Percussion Ensembles

Colorations - Variable Instrumentation; Graphic Score
Kandinsky Variations - Variable Instrumentation; graphic score
Quartet for Percussion (Kraft) - Percussion Quartet
Scherzo á Due - Multiple Percussion Duet
Suite for Percussion - Percussion Quartet
Trio for Percussion (Kraft) - Percussion Trio

Percussion Ensembles with Orchestra

Concerto for Four Percussion Soloists & Orchestra - Percussion Quartet; Orchestra
Configurations - Concerto for Four Percussion Soloists & Jazz Orchestra - Percussion Quartet; Jazz Orchestra
Momentum for Eight Percussionists - Percussion Ensemble (8)
Three Miniatures for Percussion and Orchestra - Percussion Quartet; Orchestra

Percussion Ensemble with Concert Band

Quintessence: Concerto for Five Percussion Soloists and Concert Band - Percussion Quintet; Concert Band

Percussion Ensemble with Voice

Songs of Flowers, Bells and Death: Contextures IV for Chorus and Percussion Orchestra - Percussion Ensemble (12); Chorus
Theme and Variations (Kraft) - Percussion Quartet; Narrator (optional)

Encounter Series

Encounters I - Multiple Percussion; with tape
Encounters II - Tuba
Encounters III - Multiple Percussion; Trumpet
Encounters IV - Multiple Percussion; Trombone
Encounters V: In the Morning of the Winter Sea - Multiple Percussion; Cello
Encounters VI - A Concertino for Roto-toms and Percussion Quartet - Percussion Quartet; Multiple Percussion
Encounters VII - Multiple Percussion Duet
Encounters VIII - Multiple Percussion
Encounters IX - Multiple Percussion; Saxophone
Encounters X - Marimba; Violin
Encounters XI: The Demise of Suriyodhaya - Multiple Percussion; English Horn
Encounters XII: The Gabrielic Foray - Multiple Percussion; Harp
Encounters XIII - Multiple Percussion; Woodwind Quintet
Encounters XIV: Concerto a Tre - Multiple Percussion, Violin, Piano
Encounters XV - Multiple Percussion, Guitar
Encounters XVI - Multiple Percussion, Flute
Encounters XVII - Multiple Percussion, Clarinet