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 the capital of Little Rock.[1] At one time, his "Double Pyramid Balance System" was a widely used pedagogical tool in the concert band world.
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.
Awardsedit
The most outstanding of his awards have been the Presley Award at Hardin-Simmons University in 1954,[3] the Howard Hanson Prize at the Eastman School of Music for his Third Symphony in 1963,[4] 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,[5]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.[1][6]
Worksedit
Works for Orchestraedit
Symphoniesedit
1955 Symphony No. 1, opus 7
1956 Symphony No. 2, opus 10
1963 Symphony No. 3, opus 27
1969 Symphony No. 4, opus 49A
Other Orchestral Worksedit
1956 Suite on a Biblical Event, opus 8
1956 Overture for Orchestra, opus 9
1957 Pastorale, for woodwinds and strings, opus 11
1960 Pastorale and Allegro, opus 21
1961 Allegro Agitato, opus 24
1963 Quanah, opus 29
1974 Grace, Praeludium and Response, opus 53
1974 The Badlands, opus 54A
1975 Kaddish, opus 57A
Works for Windsedit
(The bulk of McBeth's wind ensemble and concert band music is published by Southern Music Company of San Antonio, Texas.)
1954 Orfadh, opus 3
1954 Divertimento for Band, opus 4
1957 Andalusia, opus 14a
1957 Call and Response, opus 14b
1959 Cavata, opus 17
1960 Second Suite for Band, opus 20
1961 Narrative, opus 23
1961 Chant and Jubilo, opus 25
1963 Mosaic, opus 29A
1964 Reflections Past, opus 30
1964 Joyant Narrative, opus 34
Two Fanfares
1959 Thaxton Fanfare, opus 16
1964 Cooper Fanfare, opus 32
1965 Battaglia, opus 36
Two Symphonic Fanfares
1965 Jenkins Fanfare, opus 35
1966 TCU Fanfare, opus 38
1966 Cantique and Faranade, opus 39
1967 Texas Tech Fanfare, for two wind orchestras, opus 43
Symphonic Sounds for the Field
1967 Bowie Fanfare, opus 41
1968 Fredericksburg Fanfare, opus 45
1967 Masque, opus 44
Big Sounds for young bands
1967 Weiss Fanfare, opus 42
1968 Jayton Fanfare, opus 46
1969 Drammatico, opus 48
1969 Divergents, opus 49
1972 The Seventh Seal, opus 50
1973 Festive Centennial, opus 51
1973 To be Fed by Ravens, opus 52
1974 Capriccio Concertant', opus 54
1975 Kaddish for Symphonic Band, opus 57
1976 New Canaan, opus 58
1977 Canto, opus 61
1979 Caccia, opus 62
1979 Cavata, opus 63
1981 The Feast of Trumpets, opus 64
1981 Grace Praeludium, opus 65
1982 Flourishes, opus 66
1983 Praises, opus 70
1984 Beowulf – An Heroic Trilogy, opus 71
1986 To the Unknowns, opus 73
1986 With Sounding Trumpets, opus 74
1987 The Fifth Trumpeter, opus 75
1988 They Hung Their Harps in the Willows, opus 77
1990 Of Sailors and Whales, opus 78
Ishmael
Queequeg
Father Mapple
Ahab
The White Whale
1991 Drayton Hall Esprit, opus 79
1992 Daniel in the Lion's Den, opus 80
1992 This Land Of El Dorado, opus 81
1993 Wine From These Grapes, opus 83
1993 Through Countless Halls of Air, opus 84
First Flight – Daedalus And Icarus,
Kitty Hawk – Orville And Wilbur,
High Flight – BeeGee and the Blackbird
1997 The Sea Treaders
Come Wandering Shepherds
Eulogies by the Bard of Great Falls
Fanfare "The Lions of North Bridge"
Lauds And Tropes
Laud I, II.
Trope I, III.
Laud II, IV.
Trope II, V.
Laud III
Tenebrae
The Gathering of the Waters
When Honor Whispers And Shouts
Variants on a Chorale of Clifton Williams (unpublished, 1977)
When Rossi Strikes
The Dream Catcher
Scaramouche
Estampie
Pedagogical worksedit
Effective Performance of Band Music: Solutions to specific problems of 20th Century Music (Southern Music Co. 1972)
New Theories of Theory: Helpful New Ideas for the Understanding of 18th Century Harmony (Southern Music Co. 1979)
The Complete Honor Band Manual: A guide for the Preparation and Organization of Honor Band Clinics (Southern Music Co. 1986)
Twentieth Century Techniques of Composition for the Beginning Student (Delta Publications 1994)
Referencesedit
Preston, Keith Y. (2006). William Francis McBeth (born 1933): Composer, conductor, music educator. D.M.A. dissertation, Arizona State University, United States—Arizona. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from Dissertations & Theses @ Arizona State University.(Publication No. AAT 3210200).
Notesedit
^ ab"William Francis McBeth". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. The Central Arkansas Library System.
^"Documentary featuring Arkansas' late composer laureate to be rebroadcast". KATV News. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
^"Dr. Francis McBeth". Hardin-Simmons University. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
^"W. Francis McBeth". Sigma Alpha Iota. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
^Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award. Guide to Awards Pg. 11 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-18. Retrieved 2012-10-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Evansville, IN: Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
^"Conway Composers Guild Inaugural W. Francis McBeth Composition Contest". Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.