Bill Douglas (musician)

Not to be confused with Billy Douglas (musician).

From 1962-66, Douglas attended the University of

Toronto and obtained a BA in music education. During this time, he became very interested in 20th century
classical music, and started composing pieces inuenced
by Anton Webern, Elliott Carter, and Igor Stravinsky, as
well as such contemporary jazz artists as Paul Bley and
Gary Peacock. He played fourth bassoon in the Toronto
Symphony, and often played jazz piano gigs on weekends.

Bill Douglas (born November 7, 1944) is a Canadian

musician, composer, pianist, and bassoonist whose works
received inuence from classical music, jazz, African,
Brazilian and Indian music, 1970s funk and many other
genres.
He has toured and recorded for thirty years with
clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. As a bassoonist, he has
played with the Toronto and New Haven Symphony Orchestras and has recorded three RCA albums with Peter
Serkin and Tashi1 (Ida Kavaan, Fred Sherry, Richard
Stoltzman and Peter Serkin). As a jazz pianist, he has
toured and recorded with vibraphonist Gary Burton and
bassist Eddie Gmez.

Douglas was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship

in 1966, and attended Yale University from 1966-69.
There he met clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and they have
been touring and recording ever since. In 1967, Douglas played three concerti with the Toronto Symphony.
He received a Master of Music degree majoring in bassoon in 1968, and a Master of Musical Arts degree in
composition in 1969. At this time, Douglas was writing
In 1994, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music very avant-garde atonal music. After Yale, he received a
Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), the Canadian equiva- Canada Council award to study composition in London,
lent of the American Society of Composers, Authors and England for a year.
Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Incorporated
From 1970-77, Douglas taught at the California Institute
(BMI), presented him with their classical composer of the
year award. His compositions have been performed by of the Arts in Valencia, California. Here, he became very
major orchestras and chamber groups around the world. interested in African and Indian music. He started writHe has been teaching at Naropa University in Boulder, ing a series of rhythm studies for his students called Rock
Colorado for twenty-nine years. Thirteen CDs of his mu- Etudes (later, the name was changed to Vocal Rhythm
Etudes). These were inuenced by African, Indian, and
sic are available.
Brazilian music, as well as contemporary classical music,
jazz, and funk (particularly the 70s funk of Miles Davis
and Herbie Hancock). They have been used in many
1 Biography
schools around North America, and he performs at least
one of them in all his concerts. Douglas also started to
Bill Douglas was born on November 7, 1944, in London, write short tonal and modal lyrical pieces for his students.
Ontario, Canada. His father played trombone and sang in These eventually became part of his concert repertoire,
a big band, and his mother played organ in church. His and he has recorded many of them. He also recorded, in
earliest memory is of himself playing in a one-man band 1976, three RCA albums of classical chamber music with
with toy instruments when he was three. He began piano pianist Peter Serkin and Tashi.
lessons at four and taught himself ukulele and guitar when
he was seven. At age eight, he started to write songs inuenced by early rock musicians such as Little Richard,
The Everly Brothers, and Elvis Presley. His two brothers
formed a band in which he which performed these tunes
and other rock songs from the 1950s.

In 1977, he moved to Boulder, Colorado to teach at the

Naropa Institute. He continues to teach there and to
tour with Richard Stoltzman and his own groups. With
Richard, he also often plays with bassist Eddie Gomez.
Some of his bassoon students from Cal Arts moved to
Boulder with him, and they formed the Boulder Bassoon
When he was thirteen, he started to play bassoon and be- Band which played together for twenty years.
came very interested in both classical music and jazz. By Bill Douglas has recorded eleven CDs of his music[1] for
this time, Douglas had denitely decided on a career in Hearts of Space Records (owned since 2001 by Valley
music. His heroes in jazz were Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Entertainment). Six of these have featured the Ars Nova
and John Coltrane, and he wrote his rst jazz tunes at Singers conducted by Thomas Morgan. In 1998, RCA
fourteen. He received an "Associate of the Royal Con- released an album entitled Open Sky: Richard Stoltzman
servatory of Toronto" diploma in classical piano at age plays the Music of Bill Douglas. In March, 1999, his Conseventeen.
1

certo for African Percussion Ensemble and Orchestra was

premiered by Nexus and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In April, 2005, his oboe concerto was premiered
by Peter Cooper and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
In March, 2009, his Concerto for Darbouka and Orchestra was premiered by the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
with soloist Rony Barrak.[2]
Among the many musicians who have inspired and inuenced him are Johann Sebastian Bach, Bill Evans, Keith
Jarrett, Josquin des Prez, William Byrd, Dietrich FischerDieskau, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Ali Akbar Khan.

Discography

Albums
1988: Jewel Lake (Hearts of Space Records)
1991: Cantilena (Hearts of Space Records)
1992: Everywhere - Live Studio Duets
1993: Kaleidoscope (Hearts of Space Records)
1995: Circle of Moons (Hearts of Space Records)
1996: Deep Peace (Hearts of Space Records)
1998: Songs of Earth & Sky (Hearts of Space
Records)
1999: Earth Prayer (Hearts of Space Records)
2000: Eternitys Sunrise (Hearts of Space Records)
2001: A Place Called Morning (Hearts of Space
Records)
2002: Homeland: A Prayer for Peace (Hearts of
Space Records)
2004: Stepping Stones (Hearts of Space Records)
2005: Sky (Hearts of Space Records)

Notes

^1 Tashi consists of violinist Ida Kavaan, cellist Fred

Sherry, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and pianist Peter
Serkin.

References

[1] Bill Douglas at Valley Entertainment

[2] Blomster, Wes (2009-03-12). Boulder Philharmonic
goes exotic with tabla virtuoso Rony Barrak. Daily Camera.

5 External links
BillDouglas.cc ocial site

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