Western Washington University hosts Bolcom 80th birthday celebration May 4-6

William Bolcom and Joan Morris coming to Western for Concerts, Master Classes

William BolcomNational Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy Award-winning composer and pianist William Bolcom comes to Western Washington University May 4-6 for a weekend of concerts and masterclasses in celebration of his 80th birthday. 

Performances 

Performances are in the WWU Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available at the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-6146 or you can order online.

  • Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. - Music for Orchestra and Chamber Ensembles 
  • Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. - Piano Music 
  • Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m.  - Music for Voice & Piano, including Bolcom’s opera "Lucrezia." 

Masterclasses 

Masterclasses will be held in the WWU Performing Arts Center, and are free and open to the public. 

  • Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m. - Piano Masterclass (Concert Hall) 
  • Saturday, May 5 at 2 p.m. - Composition Masterclass (Choir Room, 16) 
  • Sunday, May 6 at 11 a.m.  - Voice Masterclass (Choir Room, 16) 

A Seattle native, 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.