William Strickland (conductor)

William Remsen Strickland (b. Defiance, Ohio, January 25, 1914; d. Westport, Connecticut, November 17, 1991) was an American conductor and organist.

He served as guest conductor for the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington, D.C. during World War II. He conducted the Nashville Symphony for five seasons, from 1946 to 1951, and later conducted the Oratorio Society of New York.

He was noted for his performances and recordings of contemporary works by American composers such as Samuel Barber, John J. Becker, Jack Beeson, William Bergsma, John Alden Carpenter, Henry Cowell, Norman Dello Joio, Vivian Fine, William Flanagan, Miriam Gideon, Irwin Heilner, Alan Hovhaness, Mary Howe, Charles Ives, Frederick Jacobi, Werner Josten, Homer Keller, Harrison Kerr, Edward MacDowell, Douglas Moore, Horatio Parker, Julia Perry, Walter Piston, Wallingford Riegger, Richard Rodgers, Carl Ruggles, Roger Sessions, Louise Talma, Francis Thorne, Lester Trimble, David Van Vactor, Robert Ward, and Elinor Remick Warren. He also conducted and recorded in Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Japan.

He died at his home in Westport, Connecticut at the age of 77, on November 17, 1991, of lung cancer.

The William Strickland papers are held by the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1991, a bequest from his estate helped to establish the William R. Strickland Commission Endowment Fund, which assists in the sponsorship of new musical compositions. [http://www.arsisaudio.com/cd150N.html]

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFDC173FF936A15752C1A967958260 Obituary from "The New York Times"]
* [http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0027-4380(194712)2%3A5%3A1%3C43%3AWS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8 Article]