William Franklin Lee III
Encyclopedia
William Franklin Lee III, aka Bill Lee (20 February 1929 Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

; d. 23 October 2011 New Smyrna Beach, Florida
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 20,048 according to the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 23,161.-History:...

) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 pianist, composer, arranger, author, and music educator who was renowned for pioneering comprehensive music education, including jazz, at the collegiate level of a full liberal arts university. Lee was well-known for having led the University of Miami School of Music to greater international influence across several music genres, particularly jazz. He served as Miami's third dean from 1964 to 1982. In 1989, he retired from the University of Miami, but, continued to work in music education at other institutions (see below). Upon his initial retirement, the University of Miami acknowledged his contribution to his discipline and to the university by awarding him two permanent titles: (i) Distinguished Professor of Music Theory and Composition Emeritus and (ii) Composer in Residence Emeritus.

Before retiring, though, Lee served as Vice-President and Provost at The University of Miami. He also served as Past-President and Past Executive Director of IAJE.

One of his sons, Will Lee
Will Lee (bassist)
Will Lee aka William Franklin Lee IV is an American musician and bassist, best known for his work on the CBS television program The Late Show with David Letterman as part of the CBS Orchestra....

 (William Frankin Lee IV), is a prolific bassist and one of the original members of the bands on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...

 and CBS' Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

, both led by Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...

.

Academic degrees

  • 1945 — High School Diploma, Kirwin High School, Galveston
  • 1949 — Bachelor of Music, University of North Texas College of Music
    University 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...

  • 1950 — Master of Science, University of North Texas College of Music
    University 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...

  • 1956 — Master of Music, Composition, University of Texas at Austin
    University of Texas at Austin
    The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

  • 1956 — PhD Music School Administration, University of Texas at Austin
    University of Texas at Austin
    The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...


Note on Lee at North Texas

When Lee received his masters of science at North Texas in 1950, he was a member of the largest spring graduating class in the history of university as of that date. His studies at North Texas exposed him to two seminal people in music education at the collegiate level, Wilfred Bain, then the Dean of the North Texas College of Music, and Gene Hall
Gene Hall
Morris 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...

, who, in 1947, introduced at North Texas the first college degree in jazz studies in the world. Lee began his studies at North Texas in the Fall of 1945. By his sophomore year at North Texas (1946), he was a member of the Beethoven Choir – conducted by Bain – the symphony orchestra, and the Aces of Collegeland, directed by Fessor Graham.

Honors and awards


Timeline as educator

1951-52 — Director of Bands at Kirwin High School, Galveston, TX
1952-55 — Professor of Music, St. Mary’s University
St. Mary's University, Texas
St. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...

, San Antonio
1953 — summer faculty, Trinity University
Trinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....

, San Antonio
1954 — Distinguished Lecturer, San Antonio College
San Antonio College
San Antonio College is a community college that is a part of the Alamo Community College District. It is located on San Pedro Avenue, across from San Pedro Park, near downtown San Antonio. SAC is the oldest public two-year college in Texas...

1952-55 — Special Music Instructor in the San Antonio Independent School District
San Antonio Independent School District
San Antonio Independent School District is a school district based in Downtown San Antonio, Texas .San Antonio ISD is one of 15 school districts serving San Antonio. San Antonio ISD serves the downtown and inner city areas of San Antonio. San Antonio ISD also serves a small portion of the city of...

1955-56 — Instructor of Theory and Assistant to the Dean of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin
1956-64 — Professor of Theory-Composition and Director of the Music Department at Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University was founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first...

, where he initiated their jazz studies program. One of his first assistants was renowned jazz educator Jerry Coker, who later followed Lee to The University of Miami.
1964-82 — Third Dean of the School of Music, University of Miami School of Music
1982-86 — Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Miami
1986-1989 — Distinguished Professor and Composer-in-Residence, University of Miami
1989-90 — Director of Fine Arts at Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...

1990-1994 — Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Humanities at the University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio, commonly referred to as UTSA, is a state university in San Antonio, Texas. With an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, it is the third-largest of nine universities and six health institutions in the University of Texas System and the eighth-largest in...

1994-95 — Professor of Music, the University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio, commonly referred to as UTSA, is a state university in San Antonio, Texas. With an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, it is the third-largest of nine universities and six health institutions in the University of Texas System and the eighth-largest in...


1972-74 — co-founder and past-president of NAJE
1995-99 — Executive Director of IAJE

Family

William Franklin Lee III was born February 20, 1929, in Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, to the marriage of William Franklin Lee, Jr. (1906–1991), and Annie Tillie Lee ( Keis). (Lee & Keis were married in 1927 in Galveston). William Franklin Lee III married Lois Ruth Lee ( Snyder). Together, they had four children:
  1. William Franklin Lee IV (b. 1952, Bexar County, TX)
  2. Robert ("Rob") Terry Lee (b. 1953, Bexar County, TX)
  3. Patricia ("Pat") Lynn Lee (b. 1955, Travis County, TX)
  4. Peggy Ann Lee (b. 1958, Walker County, TX)

Selected published works

  • William F. Lee, Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm ed. by Audree Coke Kenton, Creative Press of Los Angeles (1980)
  • Music Theory Dictionary, compiled and edited by William F. Lee, Huntsville, Tex., (c1961)
  • Music Theory Dictionary: The Language of the Mechanics of Music, compiled by William F. Lee, C. Hansen Educational Music and Books (c1966)
  • William F. Lee III, People in Jazz: Jazz Keyboard Improvisors of the 19th & 20th Centuries: preragtime, blues, folk and minstrel, early ragtime, dixieland, ragtime-stride, blues-boogie, swing, prebop, bop Columbia Lady Music, Hialeah, FL, distributed by Columbia Pictures Publications, (c1984)
  • William F. Lee, The Nature of Music, a Guide to Musical Understanding and Enjoyment, C. Hansen Educational Music and Books, Denver (c1968)
  • William F. Lee III, MF Horn: Maynard Ferguson's Life in Music, The Authorized Biography, Sunflower University Press (1997)

Music compositions

  • Concerto Grosso, for brass quintet and orchestra
  • Earth Genesis , for string orchestra
  • Alamjohoba, for band
  • Introduction and Fugue, for band
  • Time After Time, for band
  • Suite for brass, for brass choir
  • Four Sketches for Brass, C. H. Hansen (c1969) – 4 trumpets, 4 horns, 2 baritones, 3 trombones, tuba, string bass, timpani & percussion (2 players) "Elite 23"
  • Fanfare for Ralph, for brass choir
  • Piece for Brass, for brass quintet
  • Mosaics, for brass quintet
  • Regimentation, for brass quintet
  • Nocturne, for flute and piano
  • Soliloquy, for horn and piano
  • Mini-Suite, for trumpet and piano
  • Three Reflections, for alto saxophone and piano
  • Interlude, for guitar
  • Tone Poem, for oboe, violin, viola, 2 celli
  • Two Woodwind quintets
  • Piano Pieces
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