Will Gay Bottje (June 30, 1925;

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

- January 7, 2018; Grand Rapids, Michigan) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

known for his contributions to

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. Bottje was a graduate of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

(Bachelor of Music in flute performance and Master of Music in composition) where he studied composition with

Vittorio Giannini Vittorio Giannini (October 19, 1903 – November 28, 1966) was an American neoromantic composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works. Life and work Giannini was born in Philadelphia on October 19, 1903. He began as a violinist under the t ...

. He went on to pursue studies at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

where he was a pupil of

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

and

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American class ...

. From Eastman he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition, the second such degree to be awarded to a student from any institution. He also studied composition privately with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in Paris, and was a pupil of

Henk Badings Henk Badings (hĕngk bä'dĭngz) (17 January 190726 June 1987) was an Indo-Dutch composer. Early life Born in Bandung, Java, Dutch East Indies, as the son of Herman Louis Johan Badings, an officer in the Dutch East Indies army, Hendrik Herman Ba ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

's electronic music studio. From 1957–1981 Bottje taught on the music faculty at

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

in Carbondale, Illinois. There he founded and directed SIU's electronic music studio. One of his notable pupils at SIU was composer Larry Lake.

Selected compositions

Orchestral

* ''Commentaries for Guitar & Small Orchestra'' (also piano reduction) * ''Concertino for Piccolo & Orchestra'' (piano reduction Zalo) * ''Concerto for 2 Flutes & Orchestra'' (Piano vers. J/P publication) * ''Concerto for Horn & Orchestra'' (also piano reduction) * ''Concerto for Oboe, Violin & Orchestra'' (small) * ''Flavors'' (Community or select high school) * ''Full Circle'' * ''Opener'' * ''Sinfonia for Young String Orchestra'' * ''Sounds From the West Shore'' * ''The Ballad Singer''

Vocal and choral

* ''A Sentence Once Begun – Soprano, Str Quartet (Ch. Fry)'' (piano reduction) * ''Cantata for the 53rd Sunday ( A Prayer for Middle Age)'' – SATB, 3 solos, keyboard, soprano obligato instrument * ''Carol (from Wind In the Willows) ''– SATB * ''Credo (R. Roland) ''– SSAATTBB * ''Diptych (Rilke)'' – SSAATTBB, part 2 with keyboard * ''Exhortation of the Dawn ''– SATB and Brass Ensemble or keyboard * ''In Caverns All Alone (7 songs on mind)'' – Soprano or Tenor, flute, bassoon and piano * ''In Praise of Music (5 songs) (Elizabethan texts)'' – Mezzo-Soprano and String Quartet (Rev. 1997–98) * ''Last Minute Message for a Time Capsule'' – SATB, ten dr * ''Quests of Odysseus (Kazantzakis)'' – tenor and piano (8 songs) * ''Radiant Musings (N. Cousins)'' – SATB and keyboard, 11 short settings which can be done as a whole, in part, or individually * ''Thrush Song'' – SSAATTBB, solos & flute * ''Wayward Pilgrim (5 songs) (E. Dickinson)'' – Soprano or Mezzo-soprano & Piano

Chamber music

* ''Brief Acquaintances'' – Oboe, Clarinet, Cello * ''Brief Candles'' – Flute and Guitar * ''Chorale and Allegro'' – four trumpets * ''Concerto for Tuba'' – Tuba & Piano (also in ms. orch version) * ''Country Wife-Suite (5 dances for Wycherly play)'' – flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. * ''Dances: Real & Imagined'' – Guitar & String Quartet * ''Designs''- 2 flutes, cello, piano * ''Diversions (Settings of Jim Thurber texts)'' – narrator, flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, horn and piano * ''Dune Music ''– flute, oboe, cello and piano * ''Duo Sonatina ''– 2 Euphoniums, piano (a vers. with 14 piece ensemble, also) * ''Fireflies'' – Oboe, Harpsichord & String Quartet * ''Incidental Music for a Restoration Comedy ''– clarinet, viola and cello * ''Lighter Strings'' – Guitar & Harpsichord * ''Litanies, Refrains & Alleluias'' – Trombone and piano * ''Little Sonata No.1 ''– Flute and organ * ''Little Sonata 5 ''– Clarinet and organ * ''Little Sonata No.7'' – Trumpet and organ * ''Lyric Sonata (rev. 1998)'' – Bassoon and piano * ''Music for a Joyous Occasion III'' – 2 flutes (or violins), and cello * ''Prelude & Fugue'' – Tuba and piano * ''Quintet for Flute & Strings'' * ''Quintet for Clarinet, bassoon, french horn, violin, and contrabass'' * ''Quintet Nr. 2 For Winds – flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn'' * ''Ready, Set-''- 3 cellos, or 3 bassoons, or 3 Clarinets * ''Recitative, Arioso & Finale'' – Trombone and piano * ''Serenade'' – Wind quintet and string quartet * ''Sextet for Strings ''– 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos * ''Sonata for 2 Cellos'' * ''Sonatas 1,2, and 3'' – cello and piano * ''Sonata for Flute & Piano'' * ''Sonata for Guitar'' * ''Sonata for Trumpet & Piano'' * ''Sonata for Violin & Piano'' * ''Song and Dance (1998)'' – Violin and Piano * ''Soundings'' – Oboe and Harpsichord * ''Sprites & Phantoms ''– flute, oboe, clarinet, cello and piano * ''String Quartets Nrs. 2, 4 & 5'' * ''Symphony for Cello and Piano four-hands'' (rev. 1998) * ''Three Flared Bells'' – trumpet, French horn and trombone * ''Three Miniatures'' – flute and piano * ''Tides'' – two pianos * ''Trio'' – flute, cello and piano * ''Trio'' (rev. 1998) – violin, cello and piano * ''Triple Play''- Clarinet & Piano * ''Variations & Fugue'' – 4 trombones (400) * ''Well-Tempered Flutes'' – 43 Preludes & Fugues from Bach WTC, arr for 2 flutes * ''Wonders of the Night Sky'' – 8 piano ensemble

References

External links

Will Gay Bottje
at the

American Composers Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and oth ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottje, Will Gay 1925 births 2018 deaths American electronic musicians American male classical composers American classical composers Eastman School of Music alumni Juilliard School alumni Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Southern Illinois University faculty Classical musicians from Michigan