|
|
Mayer, William (b. November 18, 1925, New York City, New York). American composer of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, and piano works that have been performed throughout the world.
Mr. Mayer is the son of the businessman and amateur violinist John Mayer and the writer Dorothy Ehrich Mayer. He studied at Yale University in 1944 and 1947–48, where he earned his BA. He studied composition with Roger Sessions at the Juilliard Summer School in 1949 and with Felix Salzer at the Mannes College of Music from 1949–52, where he received a diploma in music theory and composition. He later studied conducting privately with Emanuel Balaban in New York City in the mid-1960s and orchestration privately with Otto Luening and was introduced to electronic music by Pril Smiley at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.
Among his many honors are a Peabody Award (1958, for Hello, World!), a recording grant from the Ford Foundation (1967), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1968), two MacDowell fellowships (1969, 1986), and two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (1976, 1988). In addition, he has received a citation for outstanding new American opera of the year from the National Institute for Music Theater (1983, for A Death in the Family), a recording grant from the American Music Society (1996, to underwrite the CD Distant Playing Fields) and a lifetime-achievement award from the Center for Contemporary Opera (1997). He has received commissions from the Albany Medical College, pianist Şahan Arzruni, the ensemble Aureole, the Chautauqua Society, harpist Pearl Chertok, De Cormier Singers, Downtown Music Productions, flautist Paul Lustig Dunkel, Eastern Illinois University, soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Jubal Trio, oboist Humbert Lucarelli, the Minnesota Opera Company, trumpeter Robert Nagel, the National Music Teachers Association, the New York Brass Quintet, the New York Choral Society, the Queen's Chamber Band, soprano Dorothy Renzi, Thomas Scherman/the Little Orchestra Society, radio host Robert Sherman, the String Revival/Mendelssohn String Quartet, and the US Information Agency/Artistic Ambassador Series.
He is also active in other positions. He served in the US Army as a counterintelligence agent in 1945–46. He undertook various assignments for the US Information Agency from the 1960s–70s, including articles for its magazine Amerika, a lecture series on American operas and an engagement as moderator for the first meeting between Aaron Copland and Aram Khachaturian in New York City in 1967. In addition, he wrote the article Live Composers, Dead Audiences for The New York Times Magazine in 1975. He served as a trustee of CRI from 1968–2002 and as chairman of its board from 1981–84, as well as chairman of the Nominating Committee of ASCAP from 1988–92. He has been a judge for many competitions, including those for the American Composers Orchestra, the National Federation of Music Clubs and the National Opera Association, has evaluated scores submitted to the MacDowell Colony and has served as a panelist for the Center for Contemporary Opera, the Central Opera Service and the National Institute for Music Theater.
He has given lectures and seminars at various American institutions, including Boston University, Columbia University, the Juilliard School of Music, and Yale University.
The Theodore Presser Co. publishes most of his music.
Mr. Mayer is married to the artist Meredith Nevins Mayer and is the father of the pianist Steven Mayer, the investigative reporter Jane Mayer and the financial analyst Cynthia Mayer.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Website: http://williammayer-composer.com/
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS (note that unless otherwise specified, works are published by the Theodore Presser Co.)
STAGE: Hello, World! (participatory work for children's concerts, choreography by Ursula Melita, text by Susan Otto), dance troupe, 2 child actors, orchestra, 1956 (also concert version without dance troupe, child actors) (Boosey & Hawkes); One Christmas Long Ago (1 act opera, libretto by the composer, based on Why the Chimes Rang), 2 boy sopranos/sopranos, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, high baritone, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1962 (also shorter concert version of one section as Festive Alleluia) (WillMayer Music); The Snow Queen (ballet, choreography by Sophie Maslow, scenario by the composer, after Hans Christian Andersen), dance troupe, flute, cello, 2 pianos, percussion, 1963 (a concert suite was arranged for orchestra as Scenes from 'The Snow Queen'; also concert version for 2 pianos; also version [choreography by Ursula Melita] for dance troupe, orchestra, 1971); Brief Candle (3 act mini-opera, libretto by Milton Feist), female mime, mixed chorus, piano/small orchestra, 1976; A Sobbing Pillow of a Man (dramatic aria, text by James Agee), baritone, comprimario rôles (soprano, 2 altos, bass), piano, 1980; A Death in the Family (3 act opera, libretto by the composer, after James Agee, adapted by Tad Mosel), boy soprano, 2 sopranos, 4 mezzo-sopranos, alto, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, bass-baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 2-track tape, 1983 (a concert suite was arranged for mixed chorus, piano; also concert versions of two sections: Last Song; Kitchen duet) (WillMayer Music)
ORCHESTRAL: The Greatest Sound Around (animal contest, text by Susan Otto), baritone-speaker, orchestra, 1955 (version of section of Children's songs) (European American Music Distributors); Hello, World!, female voice-speaker/male voice-speaker, orchestra, 1956 (concert version of stage work) (Boosey & Hawkes); Andante for Strings, 16 or more strings, 1956 (version of work for string quartet) (European American Music Distributors); Concert Piece for Trumpet and Strings, trumpet, small orchestra (percussion, 16 or more strings), 1957 (also version as Concert Piece for Trumpet and Piano) (Boosey & Hawkes); Overture for an American, large orchestra, 1958 (Boosey & Hawkes); Two Pastels for Orchestra, 1960 (European American Music Distributors); Scenes from 'The Snow Queen' (concert suite from ballet), small orchestra/large orchestra, 1966; Octagon (concerto), piano, orchestra, 1971 (also version for 2 pianos) (European American Music Distributors); Inner and Outer Strings, string quartet, 26 or more strings, 1982 (Boelke-Bomart); Of Rivers and Trains, small orchestra (20 players)/large orchestra, 1988 (WillMayer Music); Good King Wenceslas (fantasy, text by A.A. Milne), female speaker/male speaker, orchestra, 1996 (version of vocal work) (WillMayer Music)
CHAMBER MUSIC: Andante for Strings, string quartet, 1951 (also version for string orchestra) (European American Music Distributors); Song for English Horn, English horn, piano, 1951 (WillMayer Music); Song for Oboe, oboe, piano, 1952 (WillMayer Music); Essay for Brass and Winds, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, percussion, 1954 (WillMayer Music); Celebration Trio, flute, clarinet, piano, 1956 (WillMayer Music); Concert Piece for Trumpet and Piano, trumpet, piano, 1957 (version of Concert Piece for Trumpet and Strings) (Boosey & Hawkes); Country Fair, 2 B-flat trumpets, trombone, 1958; Two Moods for Solo Clarinet, 1960; Brass Quintet, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1965; Three for Three, piano, 2 percussion, 1967 (WillMayer Music); Back Talk (instrumental theatre work), page-turner, ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion), 1970; Messages, flute, violin, viola, cello, 1/2 percussion, 1973; Appalachian Echoes, harp, 1975; Yankee Doodle Fanfare, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1976 (also version for flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon) (Ensemble Publications); Dream's End, oboe, clarinet, French horn, violin, cello, piano, 1976; Wedding Romp, bassoon, violin, 1985 (WillMayer Music); Unlikely Neighbors, flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, piano, 1991 (WillMayer Music); Summer Glints (vocalise), countertenor, flute, oboe, harpsichord, string quartet, 2002 (WillMayer Music); Twists, oboe, viola, 2008 (WillMayer Music)
CHORAL: To Electra (madrigal, text by Robert Herrick), mixed chorus, 1951 (WillMayer Music); The Passionate Shepherd to his Love (madrigal, text by Christopher Marlowe), mixed chorus, 1952 (WillMayer Music); The Nymph's Reply to the Passionate Shepherd (madrigal, text by Sir Walter Raleigh), mixed chorus, 1952 (WillMayer Music); Corinna's Going a-Maying (madrigal, text by Robert Herrick), mixed chorus, 1952 (WillMayer Music); Festive Alleluia, mixed chorus, organ, 1963 (shorter concert version of section of One Christmas Long Ago) (WillMayer Music); Kyrie (text from the words "kyrie eleison"), mixed chorus, 1965 (WillMayer Music); The Eve of St. Agnes (dramatic oratorio, text by John Keats), 2 sopranos, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, piano/orchestra, 1968; Letters Home (dramatic oratorio, texts from letters written by American, North Vietnamese soldiers), male speaker, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1968 (European American Music Distributors); Lines on Light (texts by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Dylan Thomas, the composer), female chorus, piano, 1971 (one section may be performed separately: Silent Icicles Quietly Shining) (WillMayer Music); Spring Came on Forever (dramatic oratorio, texts by Vachel Lindsay, James Stephens, Langston Hughes, anonymous poem "O Western wind, when will thou blow", the Song of Solomon, the composer), mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1974; La Belle Dame sans Merci (text by John Keats), tenor, mixed chorus (sopranos, altos, basses), 1976 (Warner Chappell); A Death in the Family, mixed chorus, piano, 1983 (concert suite of some sections of opera) (WillMayer Music); The Negro Speaks of Rivers (text by Langston Hughes), 5 mixed voices, piano, 1992 (also version for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano) (Boelke-Bomart); Ae Fond Kiss (text by Robert Burns), mixed chorus, flute, cello, piano, 1993 (Warner Chappell)
VOCAL: That Purple Bird (text by the composer), soprano/mezzo-soprano/tenor, piano, 1950 (WillMayer Music); Paradox (text by Marjorie Marx), soprano, piano, 1952 (WillMayer Music); For a Young Man (text by Marjorie Marx), soprano/tenor, piano, 1953 (WillMayer Music); Children's songs (text by Susan Otto), baritone-speaker, piano, 1952–55 (also version of one section, The Greatest Sound Around, for baritone-speaker, orchestra) (European American Music Distributors); Barbara, What have you Done? (text by Susan Otto), 2 sopranos, piano, 1962 (WillMayer Music); Always, Always Forever Again (text by Eugene O'Neill), 2 sopranos, piano, 1963 (also version for soprano, flute, piano, 1963) (WillMayer Music); No one knows (text by Susan Otto), soprano/mezzo-soprano/tenor, piano, 1964 (WillMayer Music); Khartoum (text by the composer), soprano/mezzo-soprano, piccolo, violin, cello, piano, 1968 (also version for mezzo-soprano/tenor/baritone, piano, 1969) (WillMayer Music); Eight Miniatures (texts by Elizabeth Aleinikoff, Dorothy Parker, Alfred Noyes, the composer), soprano, flute, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1968; Two News Items (text by the composer), soprano, flute, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1968 (also version of one section, Distraught Soprano Undergoes Unfortunate Transformation, for soprano, piano, 2004 [WillMayer Music]); Five Miniatures (texts by Dorothy Parker, the composer), soprano, piano, 1969 (WillMayer Music); Enter Ariel (song-cycle, texts by Hart Crane, e.e. cummings, Langston Hughes, Sara Teasdale), soprano, clarinet, piano, 1980; Kitchen duet, soprano, baritone, piano, 1980 (concert version of section of A Death in the Family); Passage (song-cycle, texts by Carl Sandburg, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Elizabeth Aleinikoff, Sir John Aubrey, the composer), mezzo-soprano, flute, harp, 1981 (one section may be performed separately: What Lips my Lips have Kissed); Fern Hill (text by Dylan Thomas), soprano, flute, harp, 1981; Lover's Lament (text by the composer), tenor/baritone, piano, 1982 (WillMayer Music); First Song (text by Galway Kinnell), tenor, clarinet, violin, piano, 1990 (WillMayer Music); Good King Wenceslas (fantasy, text by A.A. Milne), female speaker/male speaker, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, piano, 1992 (also version for female speaker/male speaker, orchestra, 1996); Distant Playing Fields (vocalise), tenor, flute, clarinet, French horn, cello, piano, 1995; Last Song, soprano/high mezzo-soprano, clarinet, violin, piano, 1996 (concert version of section of A Death in the Family) (WillMayer Music); Zoom-bah (text by the composer), soprano, flute, harp, viola, 1997; Dream Variations (text by Langston Hughes), baritone, piano, 2007 (WillMayer Music); The Negro Speaks of Rivers, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 2007 (version of choral work) (Boelke-Bomart/WillMayer Music); Advice (text by Langston Hughes), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 2008 (WillMayer Music)
PIANO: Pepper and Salt, 1957 (WillMayer Music); Angles, 1958 (WillMayer Music); Sonata, 1959 (one section may be performed separately: Fantasia) (WillMayer Music); The Snow Queen, 2 pianos, 1963 (concert version of ballet) (WillMayer Music); Octagon, 2 pianos, 1971 (version of work for piano, orchestra); Toccata, 1972 (WillMayer Music); A Most Important Train, piano/2 pianos, 1975; Abandoned Bells, 1982; Subway in the Sunlight and Other Memories, 1991
SONGS FOR MUSIC THEATRE (1951–61): Here in New York (text by Harold Littledale); Look at Me (text by Harold Littledale); What did I do? (text by Harold Littledale); It's a Perfect Day (text by Emily Jacobi); I Need Your Magic (text by Emily Jacobi); I'm Nobody Now (text by Elaine Sherwood); Mary Ann (text by Elaine Sherwood); How About It? (text by the composer); Deep in the Hidden Heart (text by Elizabeth Aleinikoff); Let's Have a Party (text by Emily Jacobi); Autumn Girl (text by the composer); Chez Vous (text by Sheldon Harnick)
(Last updated on January 17, 2010)
