Willard Somers Elliot (18 July 1926 in Fort Worth, Texas – 7 June 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American bassoonist and composer. He was the bassoonist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1946–1949), bassoonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1951–1956), principal bassoonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1956–1964), and principal bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1964–1997).[1] Elliot composed and twice performed the Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductors Seiji Ozawa and Jean Martinon.
Elliot was also a member of the Chicago Symphony Chamber Wind Players, Chicago Symphony Winds and the Chicago Pro Musica, which won a Grammy Award in 1986 for the Best New Classical Artist.[2]
Six 15th-Century French Songs for oboe, bassoon, and piano (1978)
Poem for bassoon and string quartet
Quintet for bassoon and strings
Two Metamorphoses for solo bassoon, string quartet, and wind quartet
Six Portuguese Songs for bassoon and piano
Six Portuguese Folk Songs for bassoon solo and orchestra (1990)
Elegy for Orchestra (1960) (Kousevitzky award (1961)
Snake Charmer, for alto flute and orchestra (1975)
Five Impressions for Wind Octet (1981)
Fantasy, for piccolo and piano (1978)
Five short pieces for oboe and piano (1986)
Four lyric pieces for wind octet, Edvard Grieg, arranged by Willard Elliot (1986)
Ma mere l'Oye cinq pieces enfantines, Maurice Ravel, arranged for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, violoncello, and bass by Willard Elliot (1988)
March from Turandot,Carl Maria von Weber, arranged for wind octet (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons) by Willard Elliot (1986)
Peter Schmoll ouverture,Carl Maria von Weber, arranged for wind octet by Willard Elliot (1986)
Quartet in B-flat, for bassoon, violin, viola, and violoncello, Mozart, adapted by Willard Elliot (1986)
Scriabiniana, suite of selected piano works, Alexander Scriabin, arranged for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, violoncello, and bass by Willard Elliot (1991)
Septet, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, and tuba, Willard Elliot (1987)
Septet, for oboe, bassoon, horn, two violins, violoncello, and bass, Glinka, new revision by Willard Elliot (1988)
Seven preludes for clarinet and piano, Alexander Scriabin, arranged by Willard Elliot (1986)
Silhouettes (from impressions), for soprano, bassoon, and piano, by Willard Elliot (1991)
Six Portuguese folk songs, for bassoon and piano, Willard Elliot (1988)
Tears, Idle Tears, for soprano, bassoon, and piano, by Willard Elliot (1990)
Two sketches, for woodwind quintet (1986)
Valse, Opus 38, for flute, clarinet, bassoon, and piano Alexander Scriabin, arranged by Willard Elliot (1986)
Most of the above compositions were published by Bruyere Music Publishers, a firm that Willard and his wife, Pat (née Patricia J. Bills), founded in 1986 to publish and popularize his compositions and arrangements.
Recorded August 1983 and June 1988 at Medinah Temple, Ohio Street, Chicago (the 1983 sessions were issued two years later on a pair of discs)
The 1983 session was re-packaged with the 1988 session and re-released as an audiophile recording (analogue to HDCD) in 2001 on two CDs by the Reference Recordings
References
General references
Contemporary American Composers, A biographical dictionary, First edition, compiled by E. Ruth Anderson (1928– ), G.K. Hall & Co., Boston (1976)
William H. Rehrig, The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music, Composers and their music, Supplement, Integrity Press, Westerville, Ohio (1996)
Composium Directory of New Music, Annual index of contemporary compositions, 1979 edition, Crystal Musicworks, Sedro Woolley, Washington (1979)
Composium Directory of New Music, Annual index of contemporary compositions, 1980 edition, Crystal Musicworks, Sedro Woolley, Washington (1980)
Contemporary American Composers, A biographical dictionary, Second edition, compiled by E. Ruth Anderson (1928– ), G.K. Hall & Co., Boston (1982)
