Welcome

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...

   

In conversation with Chamber Music Society 

CMS of Lincoln Center has been celebrating various composers' 80 years of experience, craft, and skill. They recently sat down with William Bolcom to learn more about his illustrious career, his influences, and his landmark works.

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01/21/2019

Discography

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Previous events

Bolcom: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra

Bolcom: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra

Pabst Theater, 144 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI

Associate Conductor Yaniv Dinur leads the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in this concert, which includes a jazz-infused violin concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom, performed here by the MSO’s own Ilana Setapen.

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Bolcom: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra

Bolcom: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra

Pabst Theater, 144 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI

Associate Conductor Yaniv Dinur leads the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in this concert, which includes a jazz-infused violin concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom, performed here by the MSO’s own Ilana Setapen.

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May5

Bolcom (various works): 90th Anniversary of the Fondation des Ètats-Unis, Paris

Fondation des États-Unis, 15 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris

Concert to Celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Fondation des Ètats-Unis on May 5th in the Grand Salon, Paris. The recital includes selections from: Cabaret Songs (Lauren Libaw, soprano, Nicky Purser, piano); Spring Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano (Jennifer Schiller, violin, Sarah Ghandour, cello, John Kamfonas, piano); Twelve New Études (Jay Gotleib, piano) and Cello Suite No. 1 in C Minor (Hilary Metzger, cello).

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Bolcom: Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet

Bolcom: Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet

Sandusky State Theatre, 107 Columbus Ave. , Sandusky, OH 44870

The Donald Sinta Quartet has been hailed as “a tight-knit ensemble exploding with power, virtuosity, and the unconcealable ambition to connect with its newly found listeners” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). The Quartet will be performing University of Michigan faculty member William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra. Bolcom is an American composer of chamber, operatic, vocal, choral, cabaret, ragtime, and symphonic music, and is a National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy Award-winner.

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Bolcom: "Tears at the Happy Hour" with Rayanne Dupuis & Guy Livingston

Bolcom: "Tears at the Happy Hour" with Rayanne Dupuis & Guy Livingston

Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC), New York, NY

The New York debut of the internationally acclaimed soprano Rayanne Dupuis. Ms. Dupuis and pianist Guy Livingston ("An exceptionally agile and charismatic performer"— Los Angeles Times) perform a program of Bolcom's songs, including the U.S. premiere of Bolcom’s “Poèmes libres de droits,” written expressly for them. The song cycle, on poems by Guillaume Apollinaire, is a wistful, surrealist tip of the hat to Bolcom’s formative years in Paris.

 

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