John Williams Research Paper

Donald Grantham was born in Duncan, Oklahoma on November 9, 1947. He received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oklahoma and both a Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California. He studied under French composer and pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger at the American Conservatory in France for two summers . The biography given from his personal website states:

Williams connection with this orchestra stems from his position as their conductor from 1980-1993 (although he still acts as the Laureate Conductor with the organisation). Along with the orchestra, he recorded numerous tracks for Sony and Phillips' classical labels, including award-winning albums, along with entertaining audiences live with classic and contemporary commissioned pieces. Some of the most memorable performances were

John Towner Williams was born in New York City on February 8, 1932. He acquired his love of music from his father who was a musician in the city. His passion for music took a three year hiatus when Williams was drafted in the U.S. Airforce in 1951, after which he returned to New York City to work as a jazz pianist while attending the Julliard School of Music. It was during his studies in Julliard where Williams decided to become a composer, humorously because he thought the competition for concert pianists was too high. After graduating from Julliard he moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s and began working as a movie studio musician. He worked as a pianist for a few years before given the opportunity to start composing his own music: Gilligan’s Island and Lost in Space were some he had a part in composing. This was also around the same time that he started working with the big screen movies as well. He received an Academy Award nomination for Valley of the Dolls (1967), then went on to win an Academy Award for his music in Fiddler on the Roof (1972). This was when things got interesting for Williams, the meeting and future collaboration with directors Steven Spielberg and George

John Hill Westbrook was influential to Texas by being the first African-American to play football in the Southwest Conference and becoming a minister. John Hill Westbrook was born in Groesbeck, Texas, November 13,1947. Westbrook grew up being a fourth generation minister. Growing up in parsonages, he moved around a lot. Westbrook ended up going to Booker T. Washington High School in Elgin, Texas. In Elgin, Westbrook played basketball, football, and ran track. Westbrook graduated the salutatorian of his class, and in 1965 he enrolled at Baylor university, ready to take on his dream of playing football.

St. Louis in 1880’s. The first time he was known for his music was 1891. In 1893, while

“Other kids could play cowboys and Indians and imagine that they’d grow up to be cowboys,” he wrote in his Living Proof autobiography. “I couldn’t do that. I knew that I would never grow up to be a cowboy or a fireman or the president of the United States. I knew I’d grow up to be a singer. That’s all there ever was, the only option, from the beginning.” http://www.hankjr.com/career-biography/

Understanding a person’s life and struggles helps explain his or her character and leadership qualities. Smallwood E. Williams was born on October 17, 1907 in Virginia. He moved to Columbus, Ohio with his mother and stepfather when he was only eleven years old. Williams lost his father when he was an infant (Taylor 50). Upon moving to Columbus in 1918, his mother joined Bishop Robert Lawson’s Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith (COOLJC) and began taking Williams there every Sunday. A few years later, at age fourteen, Williams started preaching at the church while attending school. In fact, people started calling him “Boy-Wonder Preacher” mainly after his travel to New York City to preach at Lawson’s Refuge Church of Christ

In total, Basie won nine Grammy Awards, but his biggest one was the one he won in 1958. When he received that Grammy, he became the first African-American male to receive a Grammy. Besides his Grammys, a couple of Basie’s songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame such as “April in Paris” and “Everyday I have the blues”. He had recorded over 480 albums. Basie was often recognized for his understated yet captivating style of piano playing and his precise, impeccable musical leadership. Basie set high standards for future jazz artist.

Hi throughout this biography i'm going to inform about the life of doug williams. Doug williams life was a very unordinary, Doug williams achieved a lot of thing throughout his life and he was very successful.

William Johnson was a slave before being freed at age 11, along with his mother, Amy, and sister, Adelia. He got his barber shop in 1830 from his half brother, James Miller. After starting his barber shop, he keeps a diary and he used it until he died. He also owned a bathhouse and bookstore.He married named Ann Battles, who was also a free african american. They had about 11 children before Johnson died. He lived in the free town of Natchez, and he almost had about three thousand dollars in 1835. Johnson was friends with other freed african americans like Robert McCary and hunted and fished with them. Johnson and Baylor Winn got into a dispute and it ended in Johnson`s favor in court. Winn was upset and shot Johnson when he was returning to

Cathay Williams, born into slavery in Independence, Missouri in September of 1844, was determined to become more than a house slave. In 1861, the Union Forces captured slaves as “contraband” and forced them to serve the military in roles such as cooks, laundresses, or nurses (“Cathay Williams”, n.d.). At the age of 17, Cathay was forced to serve the 8th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment where she travelled alongside the Soldiers to Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia. It is believed when Cathay was in Little Rock, Arkansas; she came across African-American Soldiers that influenced her decision to become a Soldier. On 15 November 1866 (at the age of 22), Cathay Williams commenced her ruse of enlisting into the Regular Army as William Cathay for three

Think of the many innovative black people out there. Although you have your typical, well known black athletes and musicians, consider other ways africans americans have made groundbreaking discoveries. African american in the medical field are especially underrated to many people. One surgeon by the name of Daniel Hale Williams deserves some recognition for what he has done for black surgeons and doctors.

Leonard Bernstein is seen as one of the greatest composers in America. Bernstein composed great music, conducted great music, and also preformed great music as a pianist. Bernstein is probably most known for his film score in the production West Side Story. According to The New York Times, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history.” Being born and educated in the United States, Bernstein was the first American to obtain worldwide acclaim. He is also cited in the Encyclopedia of World Biography, that “his special gift of bridging the gap between the concert hall and the world of Broadway made him one of the most glamorous musical figures of his day.”

Duke Ellington managed his band for almost 50 years making prodigious music and using amazing instruments. He toured all over Europe, he managed to compose an orchestra without a baton, how amazing is that. In his whole music career, he composed about 2000 pieces and won 12 Grammy

Ludwig van Beethoven was, and remains today, an influential figure in the history of classical music. Perhaps no other composer in history wrote music of such inspiring power and expressiveness. His influence on the last 150 years of music is unequalled.