Willard Somers Elliot (18 July 1926 in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

– 7 June 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American

bassoonist The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...

and composer. He was the bassoonist with the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

(1946–1949), bassoonist with the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

(1951–1956), principal bassoonist with the

(1956–1964), and principal bassoonist with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

(1964–1997). Elliot composed and twice performed the ''Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra'' with the

under conductors

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

and Jean Martinon. During his 32 uninterrupted years as principal bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony, Elliot performed as a soloist under Sir Georg Solti,

, Jean Martinon,

Antonio Janigro Antonio Janigro (21 January 19181 May 1989) was an Italian cellist and conductor. Biography Born in Milan, he began studying piano when he was six and cello when he was eight. Initially taught by Giovanni Berti, Janigro enrolled in the Verdi ...

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

Morton Gould Morton Gould (December 10, 1913February 21, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. Biography Morton Gould was born in Richmond Hill, New York, United States. He was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities ...

, Lawrence Foster, and Claudio Abbado. He recorded the Mozart Concerto for Deutsche Grammophon, conducted by Abbado. Elliot was also a member of the Chicago Symphony Chamber Wind Players, Chicago Symphony Winds and the Chicago Pro Musica, which won a Grammy Award in 1986 for the Best New Classical Artist.''Willard Elliot: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice'',

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carter acc ...

, 15 June 2000

Selected compositions

*''Symphony No. 2'' *''Elegy for Bassoon and Orchestra'', premiered December 7, 1959,

, Paul Kletzki conductor *''Quetzalcoatl,'' a tone poem *''Night Piece for Small Orchestra'' *''Concerto for Two Bassoons and Orchestra'' *''Concerto for bassoon and orchestra'' (1965) *''3 Duets for flute and bassoon'' *''Six 15th-Century French Songs for oboe, bassoon, and piano'' (1978) *''Poem for bassoon and string quartet'' *''Quintet for bassoon and strings'' *''Two Metamorphoses for solo bassoon, string quartet, and wind quartet'' *''Six Portuguese Songs for bassoon and piano'' *''Six Portuguese Folk Songs for bassoon solo and orchestra'' (1990) *''Elegy for Orchestra'' (1960) (Kousevitzky award (1961) *''Snake Charmer'', for alto flute and orchestra (1975) *''Five Impressions for Wind Octet'' (1981) *''Fantasy'', for piccolo and piano (1978) *''Five short pieces for oboe and piano'' (1986) *''Four lyric pieces for wind octet'', Edvard Grieg, arranged by Willard Elliot (1986) *''Ma mere l'Oye cinq pieces enfantines'',

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, arranged for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, violoncello, and bass by Willard Elliot (1988) *''March from Turandot,'' Carl Maria von Weber, arranged for wind octet (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons) by Willard Elliot (1986) *''Peter Schmoll ouverture,'' Carl Maria von Weber, arranged for wind octet by Willard Elliot (1986) *''Quartet in B-flat'', for bassoon, violin, viola, and violoncello,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, adapted by Willard Elliot (1986) *''Quejas o la maja y el ruisenor'' ''( Lament of the maja and the nightingale)'', from ''Goyescas'', for wind octet: 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons Granados, arranged Willard Elliot (1986) *''Scriabiniana'', suite of selected piano works,

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

, arranged for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, violoncello, and bass by Willard Elliot (1991) *''Septet'', for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, and tuba, Willard Elliot (1987) *''Septet'', for oboe, bassoon, horn, two violins, violoncello, and bass, Glinka, new revision by Willard Elliot (1988) *''Seven preludes for clarinet and piano'',

, arranged by Willard Elliot (1986) *''Silhouettes'' (from impressions), for soprano, bassoon, and piano, by Willard Elliot (1991) *''Six Portuguese folk songs'', for bassoon and piano, Willard Elliot (1988) *''Tears, Idle Tears'', for soprano, bassoon, and piano, by Willard Elliot (1990) *''Two sketches,'' for woodwind quintet (1986) *''Valse, Opus 38,'' for flute, clarinet, bassoon, and piano

, arranged by Willard Elliot (1986) *''Evolutions,'' for two contra bassoons (premiered Aug 10, 1999,

International Double Reed Society The International Double Reed Society (IDRS), is an organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts. Services provided by the IDRS include an international oboe and bassoon competition, an ...

Annual Conference) :Most of the above compositions were published by Bruyere Music Publishers, a firm that Willard and his wife, Pat (' Patricia J. Bills), founded in 1986 to publish and popularize his compositions and arrangements.

Education

*1945 – Bachelor of Music, University of North Texas *1946 – Master of Music in Composition,

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 ...

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

† † Student of Vincent Pezzi (bassoon), Sanford Sharoff (bassoon),

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 ...

(composition and orchestration)

Other positions

*1949–1952 – Bassoon Instructor, University of North Texas College of Music *1973–1976 – Faculty,

De Paul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

*1979–1984 – Faculty,

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

*1997–2000 – Faculty,

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

Awards

*1947 – Winner, National Federation of Music Clubs Composition Contest *1961 – Co-winner of the

Koussevitsky Foundation Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

Award, Elegy for Orchestra,'' performed by the

, Paul Kletzki conducting *1986 – Chicago Pro Musica received a

Grammy Award for Best New Classical Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Classical Artist was an honor presented to classical artists at the 28th Grammy Awards in 1986. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are prese ...

at the

28th Grammy Awards The 28th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1986, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year, 1985. The night's big winner was USA For Africa's "We Are The World", which won ...

Selected discography

*Chicago Pro Musica, ''The Medinah Sessions'' #

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

, ''Suite'' from ''

The Three-Penny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "Play (theatre), play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Vill ...

'' (recorded June 1988) #

Sir William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade (entertainmen ...

, ''Facade Suite'' (recorded August 1983) #

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, Hasenöhrl, '' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks'' (recorded August 1983) #

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, '' The Soldier's Tale'' – ''Suite'' (recorded August 1983) #Paul Bowles, ''Music for a Farce'' (recorded June 1988) #

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

, ''

La Revue de Cuisine ''La revue de cuisine'' (H 161, Czech: ''Kuchyňská revue'') is a ballet in one act by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. It was created for sextet: clarinet (B), bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello and piano, composed in 1927. It was premiered in Nove ...

'' (recorded June 1988) #

, Willard Elliot, ''Waltz in A-flat major, Opus 38'' (recorded August 1983) # Carl Nielsen, '' Serenata in vano'' (recorded August 1983) #

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

, ''

Octandre ''Octandre'' is a chamber piece by Edgard Varèse, written in 1923 and published by J. Curwen & Sons in London in 1924 (new edition, New York: G. Ricordi, 1956; new edition, revised and edited by Chou Wen-chung, New York: Ricordi, 1980). It is ...

'' (recorded June 1988) #

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

, Easily Blackwood, ''

Capriccio Espagnol ''Capriccio espagnol'', Op. 34, is the common Western title for a five movement orchestral suite, based on Spanish folk melodies, composed by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1887. It received its premiere on 31 October 1887, in St ...

'' (recorded August 1983) :Recorded August 1983 and June 1988 at Medinah Temple, Ohio Street, Chicago (the 1983 sessions were issued two years later on a pair of discs) :The 1983 session was re-packaged with the 1988 session and re-released as an audiophile recording ( analogue to HDCD) in 2001 on two CDs by th
Reference Recordings

References

General references *''Contemporary American Composers, A biographical dictionary, First edition,'' compiled by E. Ruth Anderson (1928– ), G.K. Hall & Co., Boston (1976) *William H. Rehrig, ''The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music, Composers and their music,'' Supplement, Integrity Press, Westerville, Ohio (1996) *''Composium Directory of New Music, Annual index of contemporary compositions, 1979 edition,'' Crystal Musicworks,

Sedro Woolley, Washington Sedro-Woolley is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Mount Vernon– Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area and had a population of 12,421 at the 2020 census. The city is home to North Cascade ...

(1979) *''Composium Directory of New Music, Annual index of contemporary compositions, 1980 edition,'' Crystal Musicworks,

(1980) *''Contemporary American Composers, A biographical dictionary, Second edition,'' compiled by E. Ruth Anderson (1928– ), G.K. Hall & Co., Boston (1982) *''International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Eighth edition,''

International Who's Who in Music The ''International Who's Who in Music'' is a biographical dictionary and directory originally published by the International Biographical Centre located in Cambridge, England. It contains only biographies of persons living at the time of publicati ...

, Cambridge, England (1977) *''International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Ninth edition,'' edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989),

, Cambridge, England (1980) *''International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, 10th edition,''

, Cambridge, England (1984) *''Who Was Who in America, With World notables, Volume 14, 2000-2002,''

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

, New Providence, New Jersey (2002) *''Who's Who in America, 38th edition, 1974-1975,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1974) *''Who's Who in America, 39th edition, 1976-1977,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1976) *''Who's Who in America, 40th edition, 1978-1979,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1978) *''Who's Who in America, 41st edition, 1980-1981,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1980) *''Who's Who in America, 42nd edition, 1982-1983,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1982) *''Who's Who in America, 47th edition, 1992-1993,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1992) *''Who's Who in America, 48th edition, 1994,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1993) *''Who's Who in America, 49th edition, 1995,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1994) *''Who's Who in America, 50th edition, 1996,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1995) *''Who's Who in America, 51st edition, 1997,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1996) *''Who's Who in America, 52nd edition, 1998,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1997) *''Who's Who in America, 53rd edition, 1999,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1998) *''Who's Who in America, 54th edition, 2000,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1999) *''Who's Who in America, 55th edition, 2001,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (2000) *''Who's Who in American Music: Classical,''

R.R. Bowker R. R. Bowker LLC (trading as Bowker) is an American limited liability company domiciled under Delaware Limited Liability Company Law and based in Chatham, New Jersey. Among other things, Bowker provides bibliographic information on publishe ...

, New York (1983) *''Who's Who in Entertainment, Second edition, 1992-1993,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1992) *''Who's Who in Entertainment, Third edition, 1998- 1999,''

, New Providence, New Jersey (1997) *''Who's Who in the Midwest, 15th edition, 1976-1977,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1976) *''Who's Who in the Midwest, 16th edition, 1978-1979,''

, Wilmette, Illinois (1978) Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Willard Somers 1926 births 2000 deaths American male composers American classical bassoonists University of North Texas College of Music alumni Eastman School of Music alumni University of North Texas College of Music faculty Texas classical music 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians