Albright, William

William Hugh Albright was born in Gary, Indiana in 1944. He received his early training at Juilliard and Eastman School of Music, and he earned three degrees from the University of Michigan: Bachelor of Music (Composition) in 1966, Master of Music (Composition) in 1967, and Doctor of Musical Arts (Composition) in 1970. He studied composition with Ross Lee Finney and Leslie Bassett at Michigan, with George Rochberg while he was at the University of Pennsylvania, and with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory in 1968-1969. He studied organ with Marilyn Mason at Michigan. He was married twice--to Sarah Ann (Kirk) Albright and Pamela Ann Decker--and had two children, John Kirk Albright and Elizabeth Mae Albright.

Albright is probably best known for his piano and organ performances. He was recognized as a premier organist, performing throughout Europe and North America. He helped to bring about a revival of ragtime, in the vein of Scott Joplin and James P. Johnson, and he sought the inclusion of ragtime and other types of popular music in many of his modernist compositions.

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