Clifton Williams
Biography
James Clifton Williams Jr. (23 March 1923, Traskwood, Ark. – 12 February 1976, Miami, Fla.) was an American composer.
Williams began playing French horn, piano, and mellophone in the band at Little Rock (Arkansas) High School. As a professional horn player he would go on to perform with the San Antonio and New Orleans Symphony Orchestras. Williams also served in the Army Air Corps band as a drum major, composing in his spare time.
Clifton Williams attended Louisiana State University (B.M., 1947) where he was a pupil of Helen Gunderson, and the Eastman School of Music (M.M., 1949) where he studied with Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson. In 1949, Williams joined the composition department at the University of Texas School of Music. He taught there until he was appointed Chair of the Theory and Composition Department at University of Miami in 1966. Williams retained this position until his death in 1976. His composition students included W. Francis McBeth and John Barnes Chance.
Clifton Williams received the prestigious Ostwald Award in 1956 for his first composition for band, Fanfare and Allegro. He repeated his success in 1957 when he won again with his Symphonic Suite. In addition to his many other honors, those most recently listed include election to membership in the American Bandmasters Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National Music Fraternity of America, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Music conferred by the National Conservatory of Music at Lima, Peru.
Works for Winds
Adaptable Music
- Variation Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1962/2021)
All Wind Works
- Academic Procession (1961)
- Air Force Band of the West March (1965)
- Anitra's Tanz (as arranger) (1875/1965)
- Arioso (1958)
- Caccia and Chorale (1976)
- Castle Gap (1964)
- Concertino (1960)
- Dedicatory Overture (1964)
- Dramatic Essay (1958)
- Fanfare and Allegro (1956)
- Festival (1962)
- The Hermitage (1976)
- Hill Country Ballad (1953)
- Killian March (1968)
- Laredo (1964)
- March Lamar (1966)
- Pandéan Fable (1970)
- Pastorale (1957)
- The Patriots (1970)
- Postwar Prelude (1943/2012)
- The Ramparts (1967)
- The Sinfonians (1960)
- A Solemn Fugue (1958)
- Sonata Allegro (1949/2012)
- Songs of Heritage (1976/1999)
- Strategic Air Command (1964)
- Symphonic Dance No. 1, "Comanche Ritual" (tr. McBeth) (1965/2013)
- Symphonic Dance No. 2, "The Maskers" (1964/1968)
- Symphonic Dance No. 3, "Fiesta" (1964/1967)
- Symphonic Dance No. 4, "Square Dance"
- Symphonic Dance No. 5, "New Generation" (1965/2013)
- Symphonic Essays (1963/2013)
- Symphonic Suite (1956)
- Variation Overture (1962)
- Variation Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1962/2021)
Resources
- Clifton Williams (composer), Wikipedia Accessed 21 August 2017
- Franklin, John. "Symphonic Suite." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 555-566. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.
- Hamilton, Craig V. "Sonata Allegro." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 643-650. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. 2010. Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 1. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 424.
- Rehrig, William H. (2005). The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music: Complete CD ROM Edition. Ithaca, NY: The Robert Hoe Foundation.
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 644-645.
- Suk, Richard. "Postwar Prelude." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 206-212. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
- Van Gilder, Chris. An examination of works for wind band: They led my Lord away arranged by Fred J. Allen, English folk song suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Variation overture by Clifton Williams, Dance of the rose maidens by Aram Khachaturian, arranged by James Truscello, Prelude and rondo by David R. Holsinger, And valdres marsj by Johannes Hanssen, arranged by Loras J. Schissel [Master's Thesis]