WILLIAM MONTGOMERY
Born in 1983 in Pocatello, Idaho, WILLIAM MONTGOMERY is the son of an English professor who was also an avid lover of all music. He began studying piano at 8 and simultaneously developed an interest in composition and orchestration. If he wasn't practicing, he was listening to music and following along in scores, taking notes on the creative devices used by the composer, and figuring out what created certain timbres. William studied piano with Mark Neiwirth until he reached college, and occasionally took lessons in composition from Thom Ritter George. He was an active performer of every style of music from classical piano works to jazz with the Brothers Sutherland Jazz Ensemble to playing drum set for a short lived ska band and rock band named Cover Band to writing arrangements of jazz standards for piano and steel pans. He also accompanied many friends and other musicians that played instruments ranging from oboe to the cymbalom to steel pan. In 2000, William began his undergraduate studies at Idaho State University. Originally a pre-law major, he never forgot about his love for music, and strong desire to write and perform. Nearly half way through his pre-law degree (BA in philosophy), William realized that he needed to switch to a degree that would allow him more time to express his creative output and spend time with his new family. So he changed his degree path from philosophy to a BA in music. He studied piano, percussion, and composition. Under the support of Dr. Kori Bond (piano) and Dr. Thom Hasenpflug (percussion and composition), William reignited his love of composition and found a truly individual voice. In 2009, with the help of Dr. Chung Park (violin professor and conductor for the Idaho State Civic Symphony), William composed the piece Through the Mountains and the Mist for string orchestra. It was submitted into the Idaho State University Undergraduate Research Symposium where it was awarded first place and premiered at the brand new Stephan's Performing Arts Center. In 2014, William's piece The Devil Inside for prepared piano and percussion was performed to rave reviews.
In August 2014, William accepted a teaching assistantship and scholarship to the University of Nevada-Reno where he taught freshman and sophomore music theory on top of a full academic course load. He was very active composing a woodwind quintet, a full orchestral piece, a string quartet, percussion quartet, piece for wood blocks, Black Moon (marimba, percussion, two violins) composed for the brand new Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Nevada-Reno, pieces for electronics, two pieces for solo instrument and tape, and at least eight other acoustic compositions. William studied acoustic composition with Dr. James Winn and electronic composition with Dr. Jean-Paul Perrotte. In the fall of 2015, William was named composer-in-residence for the newly developed Artemisia Chamber Ensemble. The ensemble is comprised of the best high school musicians in the Reno area, many of which acted as principle and first chairs of the Reno Youth Orchestra that preformed in Carnegie Hall under the leadership of Dr. James Altieri. William then continued his education at Louisiana State University starting in the fall of 2016, under the guidance of Dr.'s Mara Gibson and Dinos Constantinides, where he finished his PhD in Composition. William's dissertation is on the topic of hip-hop/rap music tropes and techniques that classical/art song composers could learn to use to enhance their music and create new areas of expression. Accompanying the document was a composition that utilized the poetry of Langston Hughes, Rueben Jackson, and Jazmine Reed that posed the question to the audience, "how far have we come since the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movements? Are minorities or subjugated people in a better place than they were?" The piece is composed for a chamber ensemble and 2 vocalists, and was premiered on April 28th, 2019, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
William enjoys to relax by traveling, spending time with his family, and listening to music.
William is an educational endorser for Salyer's Percussion sticks and mallets.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Coming Soon