03 NOV 2020 Updated
William Joseph Schmidt (b. 1926 - d. 2009)
William Schmidt, an American composer, arranger and music publisher, began playing the saxophone at the age of six and later added clarinet and piano to his studies. He started playing professionally by the time he was 12 and began arranging music a few years later.
Between 1944 and 1946, he served in the Navy as musician and arranger in the Admiral’s band on the USS Iowa in the Pacific. Following this he attended Chicago Musical College under the tutelage of Max Wald before moving to Los Angeles in 1952. There, he attended the University of Southern California where he studied with composer Ingolf Dahl and received both Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in music composition with honors. During the Korean War, he served again in the Navy (1950–52) as musician and arranger on the USS Tarawa in the Mediterranean.
In 1956 William Schmidt received a DuPont Band Composition Award and from1970 through 1976 he was awarded Ford Foundation recording grants. In 1981 he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his "Double Concerto" for trumpet, piano and chamber orchestra. This work was commissioned, premiered, broadcast and recorded by the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra in California. Schmidt was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and he received numerous ASCAP awards from 1979 until his death in 2009.
In 1959 Schmidt formed Avant Music Publishing, a company specializing in the publishing of classical music. Avant later became the core of Western International Music, Inc. (WIM) which Schmidt founded in 1964. He served as WIM's President for the next forty-five years.
Much of William Schmidt’s music was influenced by jazz and folk music. He composed and arranged music primarily for saxophone, woodwinds, brass and percussion—from solos and chamber music to clarinet choir, brass choir, symphonic winds, band and orchestra — a total of 160 original compositions and 470 arrangements. All but the last few compositions have been published, and his works have been recorded by over 50 recording companies.
After moving to Greeley, Colorado in 1987 Mr. Schmidt won the city’s competition for writing a trumpet fanfare to commemorate a new performance hall. In 1989 he won the Creative Fellowship in Music Composition awarded by the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities. In 1990 he was Composer-in-Residence at the Breckenridge Music Festival.
William Joseph Schmidt (b. 1926 - d. 2009)
William Schmidt, an American composer, arranger and music publisher, began playing the saxophone at the age of six and later added clarinet and piano to his studies. He started playing professionally by the time he was 12 and began arranging music a few years later.
Between 1944 and 1946, he served in the Navy as musician and arranger in the Admiral’s band on the USS Iowa in the Pacific. Following this he attended Chicago Musical College under the tutelage of Max Wald before moving to Los Angeles in 1952. There, he attended the University of Southern California where he studied with composer Ingolf Dahl and received both Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in music composition with honors. During the Korean War, he served again in the Navy (1950–52) as musician and arranger on the USS Tarawa in the Mediterranean.
In 1956 William Schmidt received a DuPont Band Composition Award and from1970 through 1976 he was awarded Ford Foundation recording grants. In 1981 he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his "Double Concerto" for trumpet, piano and chamber orchestra. This work was commissioned, premiered, broadcast and recorded by the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra in California. Schmidt was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and he received numerous ASCAP awards from 1979 until his death in 2009.
In 1959 Schmidt formed Avant Music Publishing, a company specializing in the publishing of classical music. Avant later became the core of Western International Music, Inc. (WIM) which Schmidt founded in 1964. He served as WIM's President for the next forty-five years.
Much of William Schmidt’s music was influenced by jazz and folk music. He composed and arranged music primarily for saxophone, woodwinds, brass and percussion—from solos and chamber music to clarinet choir, brass choir, symphonic winds, band and orchestra — a total of 160 original compositions and 470 arrangements. All but the last few compositions have been published, and his works have been recorded by over 50 recording companies.
After moving to Greeley, Colorado in 1987 Mr. Schmidt won the city’s competition for writing a trumpet fanfare to commemorate a new performance hall. In 1989 he won the Creative Fellowship in Music Composition awarded by the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities. In 1990 he was Composer-in-Residence at the Breckenridge Music Festival.