Wilding-White, Raymond

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Wilding-White, Raymond

Wilding-White, Raymond, American composer, teacher, and photographer; b. Caterham, Surrey, England, Oct. 9, 1922. He was a student at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (1947-49), the New England Cons. of Music in Boston (B.M., 1951; M.M., 1953), of Copland and Dallapiccola at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summers, 1949-51), and of Read at Boston Univ. (D.M.A., 1962). He taught at the Case Inst. of Technology in Cleveland (1961-67) and at De Paul Univ. in Chicago (1967-88). In 1969 he founded the Loop Group for the performance of 20^th -century music, which continued to be active through various transformations until its demise in 1989. He also was active on the radio and prepared numerous programs for WFMT-FM in Chicago, including 366 broadcasts of “Our American Music” for the American bicentennial (1976), “Music Chicago Style” for the Chicago sesquicentennial (1987), and a memorial tribute to John Cage (1992). As a photographer, his work has been exhibited in many settings.

Works

dramatic: The Trees, ballet (1949); The Tub, chamber opera (1952); The Selfish Giant, television fable (1952); The Lonesome Valley, ballet (1960); Yerma, opera (1962); Encounters, ballet (1967); Beth, musical (1989-90; renamed Trio in 1994); Gifts, liturgical drama (1993); “action pieces” entitled MY aLBUM. O R C H. : Sym. for Swing Orch. (1947); Piano Concerto (1949); Concertante for Violin, Horns, and Strings (1963); Band-music for Concert Band (1966); Whatzit No. 4 for Orch. and Tape (1969); Violin Concerto (1978); 3 Symphony of Symphonies (1995, et seq.). CHAMBER: 6 string quartets: No. 1 (1948), No. 2 (1966), No. 3, The Forrest, for Tenor and String Quartet (1970), No. 4 (1981), No. 5 (1987-88), and No. 6, The Song Quartet (1987-88); Violin Sonata (1956); Variations for Chamber Organ and String Trio (1959); 5 Fragments for Jazz Ensemble (1966); pieces entitled Whatzit mostly for Solo Instrument and Tape (1967-75); piano music. VOCAL: Even Now for Baritone and Orch. (1954); Paraphernalia for Chorus and 5 Instruments (1959); Haiku for Soprano, Tenor, and Instruments (1967); The Southern Harmony for Amateur Chorus and Orch; De Profanáis for Solo Voices, Chorus, and Orch.; various Psalm settings, etc.