W. Francis McBeth

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William Francis McBeth was born March 9, 1933 in Ropesville, TX (near Lubbock). He is a prolific composer, whose musical repertoire has become a universal standard in band literature.

McBeth received the ASCAP Special Award every year since 1965. In 1988, he was awarded Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award for his achievement and continued contribution to American music.

From 1957 until retirement in 1996, he taught at Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. In 1975, he was named Composer Laureate of Arkansas, the first Composer Laureate named in the United States.

Among his major wind works are: Chant and Jubilo, Masque, Kaddish, Joyant Narrative, To Be Fed By Ravens, Capriccio Concertant, Wine From These Grapes, Of Sailors and Whales, Canto, and Divergents. Masque is known is his best work.

In 1962 McBeth conducted the Arkansas All-State Band and among the members of the tenor saxophone section was future president Bill Clinton.