The Hartenshield Group, Inc

September, 2002, the Piedmont Choirs of San Francisco's Bay Area commission Delaware composer William Copper to write a new work in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Piedmont Choirs. Copper's composition, "Piano", a setting of the poem by D. H. Lawrence, will be premiered in June 2003 by ECCO, Piedmont's High School Chorus, conducted by Bruce C. Lengacher.

Commenting on the Piedmont Choirs Commission, Copper said, "They have a strong tradition of introducing distinctive new choral music, so I am very honored to be included this year. Maestro Lengacher is able to bring his choirs to excellence in many kinds of music, from John Lennon to Jan Sweelinck, and to seek out completely new music on a regular basis."

William Copper, of Wilmington, a composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, and vocal music, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Eastman School of Music, and the Krakow Poland Higher School of Music. His composition teachers were some of the most well-known contemporary composers in the world, including George Crumb, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Joseph Schwantner.

Other nationally recognized choruses premiering works by William Copper are the Raleigh Boychoir (December 2002), the Virginia Consort (May 2002), and the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids, which will perform Copper's large suite for chorus and 4-hand piano, "Lovelife Dances", in April 2003. This is the second commission of a composition by William Copper for Maestro Lengacher, who conducted Copper's humorous "Pentamic Iambeter" in May of last year with the Acalanes High School Concert Choir of Lafayette, CA.

The Piedmont Choirs have provided quality choral training and professional performance experiences for children in the San Francisco East Bay Area since 1982. The Choirs are comprised of over 350 children, ages 6-18, from 18 cities. Children are enrolled in separate boys and girls training programs, advancing to coed performing ensembles commensurate with their developing musicianship and vocal technique. Choir members form relationships with children from other local, national, and global communities, sharing the gift of choral music with each other and with audiences throughout the Bay Area and the world.

Under Artistic Director Robert Geary, Piedmont Choirs have collaborated with major Bay Area performing arts organizations such as San Francisco Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Symphony Chorus, Berkeley Symphony, and San Francisco Choral Society. Piedmont Choirs have performed at the State of the World Forum, World Cup, and in Mark Morris Dance Group's Hard Nut, and have commissioned new choral works which have become part of the standard repertoire. In addition to the commision for William Copper, Piedmont Choirs has commissioned composer Mark Winges and others for new works this year.

Bruce C. Lengacher, conductor of ECCO, received a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Arts in Education from San Francisco State University. He has studied with George Attarian, Byron McGilvray, and Rodney Eichenburger. He currently serves as the director of choral activities at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, is an adjudicator for the Bay Section of California Music Educators Association, and he has been the General/Classroom Music and Choral Representative for the Bay Section of CMEA. Bruce has worked with Ragazzi Boys Chorus, the Peninsula Girls Chorus and was a founding member of the San Jose Choral Project, now the Choral Project.

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. The Fulbright Scholarship awarded to Mr. Copper was based on his early works for orchestra, "First Minute After Noon" and "Night Music".

Music by William Copper has been performed 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. Copper's "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 Newark Symphony premiered Symphony #3, based on folk songs collected by a distant relative in southern England, Robert Copper. Copper is listed in several books of Who's Who.

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 and 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. His music is published by the Hartenshield Group, Inc, and licensed by BMI.

With a national and international reputation for excellence, Piedmont Choirs participates in the world's most musically challenging and stimulating choral competitions and festivals. The children tour to remote areas of the world, gaining invaluable cultural insights along with the highest musical standards. At the 33rd International Festival of Choral Song, Miedzyzdroje, Poland, Piedmont Choirs won First Prize and a special award for Artistic Interpretation, competing with adult choirs from all over the world.

Piedmont Choirs was chosen "Best of the Choirs" and won first prize in the Contemporary Music category and second prize in the Folk Music category at the Des Moines International Children's Choral Festival, and the Choirs won first prize in the 1992 and 1996 Contemporary Music Competition of Kathaumixw International Choral Festival in British Columbia. Piedmont Choirs can be heard on two CD's, Sing All Ye Joyful (1994), and Hear Through the Ages (1999).

For a narrative biography, photo, selected list of works, and contact information for William Copper, see his Fastwerks entry.

Hartenshield Group