Crawford Gates

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Crawford Gates is a musician, composer, and conductor known for his contributions to the body of LDS music.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Gates was born in San Francisco, December 1921, and grew up in Palo Alto, California.

[edit] Education

Gates received a BA “with great distinction” from San Jose State University, a MA from Brigham Young University and a PhD from Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester.

He studied composition with two Pulitzer Prize composers, Howard Hanson Ernst Toch, and with Leroy Roberston. Crawford studies conducting with Eleazar de Carvalho at Tanglewood and Hans Swarowsky of the Vienna State Opera.

[edit] Music faculty

He was a member of the Music Faculty at Brigham Young University summers of 1948-60, full time 1950-66. He was the Chair of BYU’s Music Department 1960-66. Crawford was a Professor of Music and Artist in Residence at Beloit College (WI) from 1966-1989. [1]

[edit] Conducting

In addition to being a professor, Gates was also the Music Director of the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra (WI) for 34 years (1963-64, 1966-99) where he prepared 45 orchestral and orchestral-choral arrangements for annual Children’s and Pops Concerts. He was the Music Director of Quincy Symphony 1969-70 and the Rockford Symphony (IL) 1970-86.[2]

[edit] Composing

He has composed or arranged over 800 titles since age eight. His works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and major orchestras in Dallas, Kansas City, Rochester and Milwaukee. Gates has had musical relationships (guest conducting, recording, commissioned compositions and premieres) with five major musical organizations in Utah :[3] the Utah Symphony, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Ballet West, Utah Opera and the Oratorio Society of Utah.

He wrote the music score to the play Promised Valley (1947) celebrating the centennial entrance of Utah Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. This stage work has been produced over 2,700 times, across six languages and five continents [4].

Of Gates' 800 and counting compositions he is most known for his works with religious themes. He wrote the musical score to the Hill Cumorah Pageant (1957-current).[5]

He arranged two hymns in the current LDS hymn book, #113 Our Savior’s Love and #215 Ring Out Wild Bells.[6][7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Beloit Teacher Index http://www.beloit.edu/~archives/documents/archival_collections/faculty/index.php
  2. ^ Conducting Work http://www.sai-national.org/pubs/win99/cgates.html
  3. ^ Temple Square Concerts http://www.meridianmagazine.com/churchupdate/020814temple.html
  4. ^ Promised Valley Info http://www.sonsofutahpioneers.org/pdf/gates.pdf
  5. ^ Hill Cumorah Music Score http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=OTk5Njc3NDEzLTEzLTEucGRm&type=amJtcw==
  6. ^ LDS Hymn Book http://www.lds.org/cm/acomposersearchalpha/1,18279,4783-1-1,00.html
  7. ^ Deseret News Article Oct 2006, The music of Crawford Gates, by Carma Wadley http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650200356,00.html