William Tamblyn

William “Bill” Tamblyn is a British composer, church musician, educator, and publisher whose career has been closely associated with post-Vatican II liturgical renewal. Raised in the Methodist hymn-singing tradition and also formed by Anglican choral music, he encountered a wide range of musical cultures while growing up in Birmingham. While studying at Durham University he was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1963 and soon became active in the Church Music Association of England and Wales.

Tamblyn taught and directed church-music programs in London and at Colchester Institute, where he helped develop an interdenominational course in liturgical music. He also founded Chiswick Music in 1973 to publish worship music and worked with major publishers on sacred and choral repertoire. His career has included composing, arranging, conducting, teaching, and advising church institutions on liturgical music.

For the New Catholic Hymnal of 1971, Tamblyn was commissioned to compose THE TREE SPRINGS TO LIFE for Fred Kaan's “We Meet You, O Christ.” The pairing preserved the image that had shaped the hymn's original 1966 conception while giving the text a specifically commissioned congregational setting.