Williametta Spencer

Williametta Spencer (August 15, 1927 – March 29, 2026) was an American composer,[1] musicologist and teacher[2] who played harpsichord, organ, and piano. She is best known for her award-winning choral work At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners.[3]

Life and career

Spencer was born in Marion, Illinois on August 15, 1927, to Viva Jewell and Samuel Joseph Spencer. The family moved to Paducah, Kentucky, where her father was a minister of music at several different Baptist churches during her childhood.[4] Spencer earned a B.A. at Whittier College and a M.Mus. and Ph.D. at the University of Southern California. Her dissertation was entitled The Influence and Stylistic Heritage of André Caplet.[5] In 1953, she received a Fulbright scholarship to study in Paris. Her teachers included Pauline Alderman, Tony Aubin, Alfred Cortot, Ingolf Dahl, Ernst Kanitz, and Halsey Stevens.[3][6]

She won several awards, including the Southern California Vocal Association National Composition Award for At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners; Alumni Achievement Awards from Whittier College in 1995 and 2008;[7] and the Amy Beach Award for her orchestral overture.[3] I Cantori commissioned and premiered her choral work, And the White Rose is a Dove. Spencer was a member of Mu Phi Epsilon and the International Alliance for Women in Music.[8]

Spencer's works have been published by Associated Music Publishers Inc.,[9] Mark Foster Music Co.,[10] Orpheus Publications,[11] Shawnee Press,[12] and Western International Music Co.[3]

Spencer died on March 29, 2026, at the age of 98.[13]

Article

  • The Relationship Between André Caplet and Claude Debussy (The Musical Quarterly, Volume LXVI, Issue 1, January 1980, Pages 112–131)[14]

Chamber

  • Adagio and Rondo (oboe and piano)[15]
  • Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano[16]
  • Sonata for Trombone and Piano[15]
  • String Quartet[17]
  • Suite (flute and piano)[18]
  • Trio for Brass Instruments[3]

Orchestra

  • Overture[3]
  • Passacaglia and Double Fugue (string orchestra)[3]

Organ

  • Improvisation and Meditation on “Gott sei gelobet”[19]

Vocal

  • And the White Rose is a Dove (choir)[8]
  • As I Rode Out This Enders NIght (a cappella choir)[17]
  • As I Sat Under a Sycamore Tree (a cappella choir)[17]
  • At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners (choir; text by John Donne)[15]
  • Bright Cap and Streamers (choir)[10]
  • Cantate Domino[15]
  • Four Madrigals (text by James Joyce)[20]
  • “Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun” (text by Walt Whitman)[15]
  • Make We Joy: A Cantata for Christmastide in a Medieval Atmosphere[15]
  • Missa Brevis[21]
  • Nova, Nova, Ave Fit Ex Eva (a cappella choir)[22]
  • Three Songs (text by William Shakespeare; flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, and voice)[18]
  • Two Christmas Madrigals (a cappella choir)[23]
  • Winter Has Lasted Too Long (voice, clarinet, and piano)

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Ruth (1976). Contemporary American composers : a biographical dictionary. Boston: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-1117-0. OCLC 2035024.
  2. ↑ Stern, Susan (1978). Women composers : a handbook. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1138-3. OCLC 3844725.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Books & Music (USA). ISBN 978-0-9617485-1-7.
  4. ↑ Spencer, Williametta (14 Apr 1964). "The Paducah Sun". Newspapers.com. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  5. ↑ Resick, Georgine (2017-12-22). French Vocal Literature: Repertoire in Context. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-5845-7.
  6. ↑ Pfitzinger, Scott (2017-03-01). Composer Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers, and Their Students. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7225-5.
  7. ↑ "Alumni Achievement Award Recipients | Whittier College". www.whittier.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  8. 1 2 Music, International Alliance for Women in (2001). IAWM Journal. The Alliance.
  9. ↑ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1970). Catalog of Copyright Entries. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  10. 1 2 "Bright Cap and Streamers - Williametta Spencer - Score - Musica International". www.musicanet.org. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  11. ↑ brittain (2011-10-19). "Orpheus Publications • Music Publishers Association of the United States". www.mpa.org. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  12. ↑ Music. American Guild of Organists. 1972.
  13. ↑ "Williametta Spencer". Rose Hills. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  14. ↑ SPENCER, WILLIAMETTA (1980). "The Relationship Between André Caplet and Claude Debussy". The Musical Quarterly. LXVI (1): 112–131. doi:10.1093/mq/lxvi.1.112. ISSN 0027-4631.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spencer, Williametta. "WorldCat". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  16. ↑ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1952). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series.
  17. 1 2 3 Buhrman, Thomas Scott (1960). American Organist. American Guild of Organists.
  18. 1 2 Boenke, H. Alais (1988). Flute Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-26019-3.
  19. ↑ Organ and Harpsichord Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog. ABC-CLIO. 1991. ISBN 978-0-313-26802-1.
  20. ↑ "Williametta Spencer | Compositions". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  21. ↑ The School Musician Director and Teacher. Ammark Publishing Company. 1981.
  22. ↑ "Williametta Spencer". Peninsula Women's Chorus. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  23. ↑ Music Journal Annual Anthology. Music Journal, Incorporated. 1971.
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