William Albright
1944 - 1998
Biography
William Hugh Albright (1944–1998) was an American composer, pianist, organist, teacher, and recording artist whose music brought together modern classical techniques, historical forms, jazz, ragtime, and other popular idioms. Born in Gary, Indiana, on October 20, 1944, he studied at the Juilliard Preparatory Department, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan. At Michigan his teachers included Ross Lee Finney and Leslie Bassett in composition and Marilyn Mason in organ; a Fulbright fellowship also enabled him to study with Olivier Messiaen in Paris.
After completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan in 1970, Albright joined its faculty and taught composition there for the rest of his career. He also directed the electronic music studio and developed a reputation as a versatile performer on both organ and piano. His concert and recording work included contemporary repertoire as well as classic ragtime, and he became an important participant in the twentieth-century revival of interest in ragtime.
Albright’s compositions range across orchestra, chamber music, solo instruments, organ, piano, chorus, and voice. His honors included Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts grants, Koussevitzky awards, and recognition from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. His hymn tune ALBRIGHT, composed in 1973, entered Episcopal and United Methodist hymnals with Francis Bland Tucker’s Eucharistic text. Albright died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on September 17, 1998.
After completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan in 1970, Albright joined its faculty and taught composition there for the rest of his career. He also directed the electronic music studio and developed a reputation as a versatile performer on both organ and piano. His concert and recording work included contemporary repertoire as well as classic ragtime, and he became an important participant in the twentieth-century revival of interest in ragtime.
Albright’s compositions range across orchestra, chamber music, solo instruments, organ, piano, chorus, and voice. His honors included Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts grants, Koussevitzky awards, and recognition from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. His hymn tune ALBRIGHT, composed in 1973, entered Episcopal and United Methodist hymnals with Francis Bland Tucker’s Eucharistic text. Albright died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on September 17, 1998.
Hymns by William Albright
Father, We Thank You
Role: Composer