Clifton Williams (composer)

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James Clifton Williams (1923-1976) was born in Traskwood, Arkansas. He began playing French horn early on and played in the band at Little Rock High School. As a professional horn player he would go on to perform with the San Antonio and New Orleans Symphony Orchestras. Williams also served in the Army Air Corps band as a drum major, composing in his spare time.

[edit] Education

He attended Louisiana State University (B.M., 1947) where he was a pupil of Helen Gunderson and the Eastman School of Music (M.M., 1949) where he studied with Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson.

[edit] Tenure

In 1949 Williams joined the composition department at the University of Texas School of Music. He taught there until he was appointed Chair of the Theory and Composition Department at University of Miami in 1966. Williams retained this position until his death in 1976. His composition students included W. Francis McBeth and John Barnes Chance.

[edit] Compositions

Williams' early compositions were for orchestra and he would later achieve great success writing for concert band. He won the inaugural Ostwald Award for band compositions in 1956 for his first band composition, Fanfare and Allegro. Williams won the award again in 1957 for Symphonic Suite. The San Antonio Symphony commissioned Williams to compose a work for its 25th anniversary. He composed five symphonic dances which he would later arrange for concert band.

The following is a partial list of band compositions by Clifton Williams:

Academic Processional
Arioso
Border Festival
Caccia and Chorale
Castle Gap
Dedicatory Overture
Fanfare and Allegro
Festival
Henderson Festival
Hermitage
Killian
Laredo
March Lamar
Ramparts
Regal Procession
Sinfonians
Sonata Allegro
Strategic Air Command March
Symphonic Dance No. 1 (Comanche)
Symphonic Dance No. 2 (The Maskers)
Symphonic Dance No. 3 (Fiesta)
Symphonic Dance No. 4 (Square Dance)
Symphonic Dance No. 5 (New Generation)
Symphonic Essays
Symphonic Suite
Trilogy for Band
Variation Overture