Biography

William Copper is a composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, and vocal music. He now lives in Wilmington, Delaware. Mr. Copper attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Eastman School of Music, and the Krakow State Higher School of Music (Poland). His composition teachers include George Crumb, Krzysztof Penderecki, Joseph Schwantner, and Gerald Plain.

His Whistler for violin and orchestra was premiered by the Delaware Symphony, played by Diane Monroe and conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser. The Delaware Symphony also premiered the Fugue and Toccata after Cernohorsky, written for Stephen Gunzenhauser, and Dogwood, for String Orchestra. String Quartet #1 won the First Prize of the Southeast Composers' League and was premiered in Krakow, Poland.

The Fulbright Scholarship awarded to Mr. Copper was based on his early works for orchestra, First Minute After Noon and Night Music. The Newark Symphony premiered Symphony #3, based on folk songs collected by a distant relative in southern England, Robert Copper.

The Wilmington Community Orchestra commissioned and premiered Symphony #2, under conductor and music director Levon Ahramjian. Sycamore, for clarinet with string ensemble, won the Delaware Music Teachers Composer of the Year award, and has been performed in West Chester, PA, Newark, DE, and Wilmington, DE. The children's opera, The Other Half was produced at the Everett Theatre in Middletown, Delaware. It won two awards from the Composer's Guild annual competition.

Ellen's Alley, for chamber orchestra, was premiered by the Mid-Atlantic Chamber Music, conducted by Levon Ahramjian. Three piano trios have been well received in performances in Delaware, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, including a premiere at the Charles Ives Center for American Art.

Mr. Copper has received Delaware Individual Artist Fellowships and residencies at the Ragdale Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico. He has served on arts review panels, charitable organization boards, and education panels.

Choral music by William Copper has been sung across the country and around the world. His Lovelife Dances (2001) and New Lovelife Dances (2002) have been requested by hundreds of choruses from Argentina to Moscow and nearly every state in the USA.

Performances of works can be heard this season in New York (5), New Jersey (5), Michigan (3), Indiana (2), North Carolina (2), Rhode Island, Texas, San Francisco, and Germany.

His music is published by The Hartenshield Group, Inc, and licensed by BMI. Recent highlights include Sea Songs , for Chorus SATB a cappella, New Lovelife Dances , for Chorus SATB with Piano-4 Hands, Romance for Violin and Orchestra, Stabat Mater , for Chorus SATB and Chamber Orchestra, and Lovelife Dances. Additional information may be found on the Hartenshield web pages, at www.hartenshield.com.

Professional Affiliations

• American Composers Forum
• American Music Center
• American Choral Directors Association
• Broadcast Music Incorporated
• Chorus America

Further Information

• Pan Pipes 2002-2003 Annual American Composer Update
• http://www.hartenshield.com/william_copper.html
• http://www.fastwerks.com/Copper_William.html

Contact Information

2314 Ridgeway Rd.
Wilmington, DE 19805
E-mail: wpcopper@hartenshield.com