William Ennis Thomson
Encyclopedia
William Ennis Thomson (b. 1927, Fort Worth) is an American
music educator at the collegiate level, music theorist, composer
, former Music School Dean and Professor at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California – 1980–1992). His interest in research centers around the cognitive and perceptual foundation of music, insight for which is found in his 2006 article, Pitch Frames as Melodic Archtypes, Empirical Musicology Review, 1.2, 1-18.
Thomson has served the faculties of SUNY Buffalo (1975–80) (Chair of Music and Albert Ziegle Professor); University of Arizona
(Director of Graduate Studies) (1972–75); Case Western Reserve University
(Fynette Hill Kulas Professor) (1969–72); Indiana University School of Music (1961–69) (Professor of Music
Theory; Chair Music Theory Department); University of Hawaii
Scholar in Residence (1967–68); Sul Ross State University
(1951–60), and Ford Foundation
composer in residence (1960–61).
He chaired the ETS
Advanced Placement in Music Test Committee (1975–79); served as Music Panel Member and Examiner for the National Endowment for the Arts
(1971–75, while Nancy Hanks
was Chairman); Fellow and Policy Committee member of the Ford Foundation
; served as a key participant in the Contemporary Music Project
(1963–75); Board member of the Buffalo Philharmonic (1976–80); taught and composed works for wind band, orchestra, chorus (accompanied and a capella); and various chamber music media. Thomson also served in the Armed Forces: U.S. Navy (1945–46).
: Bachelor of Music (composition), 1948, and a Master of Music (composition) 1949. He also earned a PhD in Music Theory and Philosophy in 1952 from Indiana University
, Bloomington. While at North Texas, Thomson was a member of the inaugural Laboratory Dance Band (1946–47) — the forerunner of the One O'Clock Lab Band
— during the launch year of the first college degree in jazz offered in the world. At North Texas, he crossed paths with:
(S2c; Service No. 358 74 10) in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946. He was a musician in a Navy Band at Camp Elliott, California. Then he joined the Navy Band (as jazz trumpet soloist) aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16)
as it sailed from San Diego to Pearl Harbor
. While at Camp Elliott, Thomson did freelance arranging for Gus Arnheim
, who, in the 1940s, owned a nightclub in downtown San Diego where he kept a small band going. Thomson was not permitted to enter the club during performances (he was too young); but he listened to the band playing his arrangements over the radio. Arnheim paid Thomson $15 for each arrangement.
, both in the classical and jazz idioms. When Thomson was five, his father bought him a cornet
, hoping to stave off his interest in the piano that his sister was studying ("boys didn't play piano"). And from that age, Thomson's mother began driving him to TCU
on Saturdays for lessons with Don Gillis. When Thomson was eight, Don recommended that — since the highest paid member of any symphony in this country (after the concert master), was the principal French horn player — perhaps he should switch to horn. So he did.
The Gillis family lived in Polytechnic Heights
, about four blocks from the Thomson family. The Gillis family attended Poly Baptist church, where the Thomson family were members. Don Gillis
was very much involved in music at TCU
.
Growing up, Thomson played French horn in Poly Baptist Church "orchestra," directed by Don Gillis. Don's sister, Eileen, played piano. The local postman, Mr. Snow, played baritone horn. A member of the Crystal Springs Ramblers, Kenneth Pitts, played violin. Thomson read the baritone part from the Broadman Hymnal, transposing it for horn.
Thomson attended Polytechnic High School
, where he was involved in the band. Thomson became proficient at playing jazz solos on French horn with the Poly High School band. His high school band director was Perry Alton Sandifer (1910–2009), a trombonist, saxophonist, and clarinetist who, outside of school, performed in dance orchestras — one led by him bearing his name. Thomson graduated from Polytechnic High School
in 1943.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
music educator at the collegiate level, music theorist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, former Music School Dean and Professor at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California – 1980–1992). His interest in research centers around the cognitive and perceptual foundation of music, insight for which is found in his 2006 article, Pitch Frames as Melodic Archtypes, Empirical Musicology Review, 1.2, 1-18.
Thomson has served the faculties of SUNY Buffalo (1975–80) (Chair of Music and Albert Ziegle Professor); University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
(Director of Graduate Studies) (1972–75); Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
(Fynette Hill Kulas Professor) (1969–72); Indiana University School of Music (1961–69) (Professor of Music
Theory; Chair Music Theory Department); University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
Scholar in Residence (1967–68); Sul Ross State University
Sul Ross State University
Sul Ross State University , a public university in Alpine, Texas, is named for former Texas governor, Civil War general Lawrence Sullivan Ross. It was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969....
(1951–60), and Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
composer in residence (1960–61).
He chaired the ETS
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
Advanced Placement in Music Test Committee (1975–79); served as Music Panel Member and Examiner for the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(1971–75, while Nancy Hanks
Nancy Hanks (NEA)
Nancy Hanks was the second chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts . She was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon and served from 1969 to 1977, continuing her service under President Gerald R. Ford. During this period, Hanks was active in the fight to save the historic Old Post Office...
was Chairman); Fellow and Policy Committee member of the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
; served as a key participant in the Contemporary Music Project
Contemporary Music Project
In 1957, the Ford Foundation began to explore the relationship between arts and American society. Resulting from a suggestion by Norman Dello Joio, the Young Composers Project was founded in 1959...
(1963–75); Board member of the Buffalo Philharmonic (1976–80); taught and composed works for wind band, orchestra, chorus (accompanied and a capella); and various chamber music media. Thomson also served in the Armed Forces: U.S. Navy (1945–46).
Collegiate education
Thomson earned two degrees from the University of North TexasUniversity of North Texas College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
: Bachelor of Music (composition), 1948, and a Master of Music (composition) 1949. He also earned a PhD in Music Theory and Philosophy in 1952 from Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...
, Bloomington. While at North Texas, Thomson was a member of the inaugural Laboratory Dance Band (1946–47) — the forerunner of the One O'Clock Lab Band
One O'Clock Lab Band
The One O’Clock Lab Band for years has been the premier ensemble of the Jazz Studies Division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton. The band has performed and toured abroad in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway,...
— during the launch year of the first college degree in jazz offered in the world. At North Texas, he crossed paths with:
- Wilfred Bain, who, as dean of the School of Music, collaborated with Gene HallGene HallMorris Eugene Hall was a music educator, saxophonist, and arranger, most known for creating and presiding over the first academic curriculum leading to a bachelors degree in jazz at an institution of higher learning, being at the University of North Texas College of Music Morris Eugene Hall (aka...
to create the country's first jazz degree program in his final year and Gene Hall's first year (1947) before moving on to Indiana University where he rapidly built another major school of music; Bain, essentially pioneered a new post-war large-scale model for higher music education by creating and integrating two comprehensive music schools within full liberal arts universities (North Texas, during Bain's era, was a large teachers college, but emerged in the late 1950s as a liberal arts university) - William F. Lee III, also a member of the first Lab Band at North Texas, who, later became a pioneering dean at a major music school, the University of Miami School of Music
Compositions
- Viola Sonata (1948)
- String Quartet (1949) (partial fulfillment of a Thesis for a Master in Music in Composition at the University of North Texas College of MusicUniversity of North Texas College of MusicThe University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
) - Western Star (text completed by Stephen Vincent BenétStephen Vincent BenétStephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
in 1943, posthumously published in 1944; and posthumously awarded the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
, his second, in 1944), for 3 readers, chorus, piano (or band) (1956) † - Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Alpine, TexasAlpine, TexasAlpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,786 people at the 2000 census, and had increased to 5,905 by 2010.-History:...
(Oct 7, 1955) - Clarinet Sonata (1958)
- Permutations, for band (1961)
- Desert Seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter for mixed chorus
- Transformations, for orchestra (1961) (MENCMENC: The National Association for Music EducationMENC: The National Association for Music Education is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education and as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States...
, Contemporary Music Project for Creativity in Music Education)
- Theme
- Dance
- Nocturne
- March
- Misterioso
- Scherzo
- Velvet Shoes, for women's chorus (1964)
- Desert Seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, for mixed chorus
- The Two Marys, for mixed chorus (1965)
- Fantasia and dance, for clarinet and piano (1967)
- Praise ye the Lord (Text from Psalm 117Psalm 117Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms. With just two verses and sixteen words in Hebrew, it is the shortest of all 150 psalms.It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the King James Version of the Bible making it the middle chapter. It is also the shortest chapter in this version of...
), vocal quartet for SATBSATBIn music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
, Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
(1968)
- † The principal reader for the premier at Sul Ross State UniversitySul Ross State UniversitySul Ross State University , a public university in Alpine, Texas, is named for former Texas governor, Civil War general Lawrence Sullivan Ross. It was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969....
in the 1950s was Dan BlockerDan BlockerDan Blocker was an American actor best remembered for his role as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright in the NBC western television series Bonanza.-Early life:...
, then a student in the drama wing of Fine Arts at Sul Ross.
Honors & awards
- 1948 — 1st Place, Young Composers, National Federation of Music ClubsNational Federation of Music ClubsThe National Federation of Music Clubs was founded in 1898, became an NGO member of the United Nations in 1949, and was chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1982. NFMC is a non-profit philanthropic music organization whose goal is to promote American music, performers, and composers through quality...
for the composition, Sonata for Violin and Piano – student of George Ellers Morey, PhD (1915–1995) of North Texas - 1971 — Outstanding Teacher Award, Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
- 1975 — Outstanding Teacher Award, University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
- 1992 — Outstanding Academic Book, (for Schoenberg's Error), Choice, American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
- 2009 — Alumni Appreciation Award, University of North Texas College of MusicUniversity of North Texas College of MusicThe University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
(bestowed upon two alumni from the College each year). According to the UNT Composition Department, the award for Dr. Thomson was particularly deserved because he is continuing a broad (interdisciplinary) and prolific career in music that spans beyond that of a composer.
Military service
Thomas served as a SeamanSeaman
Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....
(S2c; Service No. 358 74 10) in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946. He was a musician in a Navy Band at Camp Elliott, California. Then he joined the Navy Band (as jazz trumpet soloist) aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16)
USS Lexington (CV-16)
USS Lexington , known as "The Blue Ghost", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, is named in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington...
as it sailed from San Diego to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. While at Camp Elliott, Thomson did freelance arranging for Gus Arnheim
Gus Arnheim
Gus Arnheim was an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s...
, who, in the 1940s, owned a nightclub in downtown San Diego where he kept a small band going. Thomson was not permitted to enter the club during performances (he was too young); but he listened to the band playing his arrangements over the radio. Arnheim paid Thomson $15 for each arrangement.
Growing up
In his younger days, Thomson learned to play french horn and trumpetTrumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, both in the classical and jazz idioms. When Thomson was five, his father bought him a cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
, hoping to stave off his interest in the piano that his sister was studying ("boys didn't play piano"). And from that age, Thomson's mother began driving him to TCU
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
on Saturdays for lessons with Don Gillis. When Thomson was eight, Don recommended that — since the highest paid member of any symphony in this country (after the concert master), was the principal French horn player — perhaps he should switch to horn. So he did.
The Gillis family lived in Polytechnic Heights
Polytechnic Heights Neighborhood (Fort Worth, TX)
Polytechnic Heights is an area of Fort Worth, Texas located on the southeast side. As of 2005, the area has about 12,000 citizens.Texas Wesleyan University is located in Polytechnic Heights....
, about four blocks from the Thomson family. The Gillis family attended Poly Baptist church, where the Thomson family were members. Don Gillis
Don Gillis
Donald Eugene Gillis was a US composer, conductor and teacher. The composition which has gained him most recognition is his orchestral Symphony No. 5½, A Symphony for Fun.-Biography:...
was very much involved in music at TCU
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
.
Growing up, Thomson played French horn in Poly Baptist Church "orchestra," directed by Don Gillis. Don's sister, Eileen, played piano. The local postman, Mr. Snow, played baritone horn. A member of the Crystal Springs Ramblers, Kenneth Pitts, played violin. Thomson read the baritone part from the Broadman Hymnal, transposing it for horn.
Thomson attended Polytechnic High School
Polytechnic High School (Fort Worth, Texas)
Polytechnic High School is a public high school located on the eastern side of Fort Worth, Texas.-Notable alumni:*Hugh Parmer , former mayor of Fort Worth and former member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature-External links:...
, where he was involved in the band. Thomson became proficient at playing jazz solos on French horn with the Poly High School band. His high school band director was Perry Alton Sandifer (1910–2009), a trombonist, saxophonist, and clarinetist who, outside of school, performed in dance orchestras — one led by him bearing his name. Thomson graduated from Polytechnic High School
Polytechnic High School (Fort Worth, Texas)
Polytechnic High School is a public high school located on the eastern side of Fort Worth, Texas.-Notable alumni:*Hugh Parmer , former mayor of Fort Worth and former member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature-External links:...
in 1943.