William Jackson (born 14 September 1955) is a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
harpist
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...
and
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 ...
.
William Jackson was born in
Cambuslang
Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...
, near
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. As his grandparents came from
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
, he visited
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
many times, throughout his childhood, and still has a home there. He trained as a music therapist at the
Guildhall School of Music
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
in 1992/93, and from 1998 - 2009 he headed the Music therapy department at Mission Children's Hospital in
Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. In 1969 he formed the
Scottish folk group Contraband, who released an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
in 1974, then disbanded in 1975. Jackson's brother George (died 1998) was also a member. He became a founding member of
Ossian
Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora'' (1763), and later combined under t ...
in 1976. He has lived in Ireland since 2009 and works as a music therapist there, while also continuing his concert and teaching work in the US for part of the year.
Ossian disbanded in about 1989, and he continued as a solo artist both as a performer and composer. He became one of the first to compose using both traditional and classical musicians, and his "Wellpark Suite" in 1985 was generally acclaimed as a milestone in Scottish music. From 1989 William Jackson released a series of albums on his own label Mill Records, sometimes using ancient texts, and on one occasion a poem by
Kahlil Gibran
Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...
. In 1996, ''A Scottish Island'' was commissioned by the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and S ...
. In 1999 he wrote ''Land of Light'' and won the Song for Scotland competition with this
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
.
It was performed at
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
on 27 July 2000, and was featured at the 2000
Edinburgh Tattoo
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital o ...
. He arranged and performed the music for ''Battle of the Clans'', a documentary on
The History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
. As a producer, he has worked with several singers on the anthology ''Celtic Woman''. ''Duan Àlbanach'' was recorded with the
Scottish Festival Orchestra
The Scottish Festival Orchestra is a Scottish orchestra, assembled from the leading professional orchestral musicians, regularly performing with a wide range of artists at many major venues throughout the country. Ben Folds, Nicola Benedetti, Belle ...
, recorded live in 2002, but not released until 2003.
Discography
Solo
* ''The Wellpark Suite'' (1985)
* ''Heart Music'' (1987)
* ''St Mungo: A Celtic Suite For Glasgow'' (1990)
* ''Celtic Tranquility'' (1992)
* ''Inchcolm'' (1995; reissued 2007)
* ''The Ancient Harp of Scotland'' (1998)
* ''A Scottish Island'' (1998)
* ''Celtic Experience vol. 1: Haunting Themes From Scotland and Ireland'' (1997)
* ''Celtic Experience vol. 2: Haunting Themes From Scotland and Ireland'' (1998)
* ''Celtic Experience vol. 3: Haunting Themes From Scotland and Ireland'' (1999)
* ''Celtic Experience: Haunting Themes From Scotland and Ireland '' (2000) (A box set of the above three albums)
* ''The Celtic Suites'' (1999) (A compilation of ''The Wellpark Suite'' and ''St Mungo'')
* ''Land of Light'' (1999)
* ''Notes From A Hebridean Island'' (2001) (with Mackenzie)
* ''Duan Àlbanach'' (2003)
* ''The New Harp'' (2008)
* ''Music From Ireland and Scotland'' (2009) (with
Gráinne Hambly
Gráinne Hambly is an internationally known Irish traditional harper, teacher and musician.
Life and education
Hambly was born to Michael Hambly and Mary Joyce in Knockrickard County Mayo, Ireland in 1975. She has 2 sisters who are also musici ...
)
With Ossian
* ''Ossian'' (1977)
* ''St. Kilda Wedding'' (1978)
* ''Seal Song'' (1980)
* ''Dove Across the Water'' (1981)
* ''Borders'' (1983)
* ''Light on a Distant Shore'' (1986)
* ''The Best of Ossian'' (1993)
* ''The Carrying Stream'' (1997)
With Contraband
(as Billy Jackson)
* ''Contraband'' (1974)
Anthologies
* ''Celtic Legacy'' (1995)
* ''Celtic Spirit'' (1996)
* ''Celtic Chillout'' (2002)
References
Archived
External links
William Jackson website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, William
Scottish composers
1955 births
Living people
Musicians from Glasgow
Scottish harpists