Occupation Composer Name W. McBeth | Role Composer Spouse Sue White (m. 1953) | |
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Children Laura Murphy, Matthew McBeth Education Eastman School of Music, Hardin–Simmons University Similar People Clifton Williams, Clare Grundman, David Holsinger, Steven Bryant, John Barnes Chance | ||
W. Francis McBeth - Estampie
William Francis McBeth (March 9, 1933–January 6, 2012) was an American composer, whose wind band works are highly respected. His primary musical influences included Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson. The popularity of his works in the United States during the last half of the twentieth century led to many invitations and appearances as a guest conductor, where he often conducted the premiere performances of some of his compositions, the majority of which were commissioned. His conducting activities took him to forty-eight states, three Canadian provinces, Japan, and Australia; and for a number of years he was principal conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in that state's capital, Little Rock. At one time, his "Double Pyramid Balance System" was a widely used pedagogical tool in the concert band world.
Contents
- W Francis McBeth Estampie
- Chant and jubilo by w francis mcbeth
- Career
- Awards
- Symphonies
- Other Orchestral Works
- Works for Winds
- Pedagogical Works
- References
From 1957 until his retirement in 1996, McBeth taught at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Chant and jubilo by w francis mcbeth
Career
McBeth was born in Ropesville, Texas (near Lubbock). His parents were Joseph Phinis McBeth, a Baptist minister, and Lillie May Carpenter McBeth. McBeth had a brother, Harold, and a sister, Laura Fay. He had an early start to his musical training, studying piano with his mother and taking up the trumpet in the second grade. He graduated from Irving High School in Irving, Texas where he served as President of the IHS Senior Class of 1951, as well as President of Future Farmers of America. He lettered in football and track and was a member of the tiger band and choir. Mary Sue White McBeth, wife of Francis, was also in the Irving High Tiger Band class of 1951. He attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. While an undergraduate at H-SU, McBeth played in the university band. From December 1952 to January 1953, the band traveled with U.S. Camp Shows to Europe. He also played string bass in a jazz combo, which was unusual for the time period due to widespread segregation throughout the South.
McBeth married Mary Sue White in 1953. They had a daughter, Laura and a son, Matthew. He served in the military from 1954 to 1956 with the 101st Airborne Band at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and the 98th Army Band at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He was initiated into the University of Texas Alpha Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 1957.
In 1962, McBeth conducted the Arkansas All-State Band, with future president Bill Clinton playing in the tenor saxophone section. He served as the third conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from 1970 until 1973. He died on January 6, 2012 (age 78) in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Awards
The most outstanding of his awards have been the Presley Award at Hardin-Simmons University in 1954, the Howard Hanson Prize at the Eastman School of Music for his Third Symphony in 1963, recipient of an ASCAP Special Award each consecutive year from 1965 to present, the American School Band Directors Association's Edwin Franko Goldman Award in 1983, elected Fellow of the American Wind and Percussion Artists by the National Band Association in 1984, National Citation from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity in 1985, in 1988 Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award for his achievement and continued contribution to American music, Kappa Kappa Psi's Distinguished Service to Music Medal in 1989, Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic's Medal of Honor in 1993, the John Philip Sousa Foundations Sudler Medal of Honor in 1999, and Past President of the American Bandmasters Association. In 1975 McBeth was appointed Composer Laureate of the State of Arkansas by the Governor, the first Composer Laureate named in the United States.
Symphonies
Other Orchestral Works
Works for Winds
(The bulk of McBeth's wind ensemble and concert band music is published by Southern Music Company of San Antonio, Texas.)
- 1959 Thaxton Fanfare, opus 16
- 1964 Cooper Fanfare, opus 32
- 1965 Jenkins Fanfare, opus 35
- 1966 TCU Fanfare, opus 38
- 1967 Bowie Fanfare, opus 41
- 1968 Fredericksburg Fanfare, opus 45
- 1967 Weiss Fanfare, opus 42
- 1968 Jayton Fanfare, opus 46
- Ishmael
- Queequeg
- Father Mapple
- Ahab
- The White Whale
- First Flight – Daedalus And Icarus,
- Kitty Hawk – Orville And Wilbur,
- High Flight – BeeGee and the Blackbird
- Laud I, II.
- Trope I, III.
- Laud II, IV.
- Trope II, V.
- Laud III