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National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy Award-winner William Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer of chamber, operatic, vocal, choral, cabaret, ragtime, and symphonic music.

He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan's School of Music in 1973, was named the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished University Professor of Composition in 1994, and retired in 2008 after 35 years.  Bolcom won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1988 for 12 New Etudes for Piano, and his setting of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience on the Naxos label won four Grammy Awards in 2005.

As a pianist Bolcom has performed and recorded his own work frequently in collaboration with his wife and musical partner, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris.  Cabaret songs, show tunes, and American popular songs of the 20th century have been their primary specialties in both concerts and recordings.  Their 25th album,  "Autumn Leaves," was released in 2015.

In 2018, nine world premieres of Bolcom works commemorated William Bolcom's 80th birthday.

Updates...

William Bolcom named winner of 2021 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition  

American composer William Bolcom, National Medal of Arts recipient, Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winner, has been awarded the $100,000 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition from the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University.  Established in 2003, the Nemmers Prize in Music Composition recognizes classical composers of outstanding achievement who have significantly influenced the field of composition.

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A ghostly "Graceful Ghost" 

In this age of virtual performances, the saxophone sextet The Moanin' Frogs took a unique approach to filming an elegant, ghostly version of Bolcom's Graceful Ghost. 

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Discography

Calendar

Bolcom: Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Band

Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Cir Dr, Evanston, IL 60208

An afternoon of dazzling music for winds. Lauded for his “supreme virtuosity” (The New York Times) and “superhuman ability” (American Record Guide), acclaimed saxophonist Taimur Sullivan makes his Northshore Concert Band debut in William Bolcom’s quirky Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Band.


 

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