William Dougherty: Adopt a Composer
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London Chorus
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Described by the Jeffrey Cornelius Tribute Award as, “showing exceptional promise” composer William Dougherty (b. 1988) has had his works performed and workshopped internationally by leading ensembles and soloists including the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the BBC Singers, the Composer’s Ensemble, the Momenta Quartet, Dolce Suono’s Metal and Wood Band, Philadelphia’s Network for New Music, A2 Percussion Duo, and the founding member of the Argento Ensemble, clarinetist, Carol McGonnell in venues such as the Southbank Centre, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Science Museum in London, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Palais Corbelli in Vienna, and the Trinity Chapel in Fontainebleau, France. Dougherty’s music has been heard on the Financial Times’ Podcast ‘FT Science’ with Clive Cookson and broadcasted on BBC Radio 3. Dougherty has received recognitions, awards, and scholarships from the King James Bible Trust, the American Composers Forum, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, Le Conservatoire Americain de Fontainebleau, the Institute for European Studies, and the Marshall Commission to name a few. As a student of composition, William has studied and participated in masterclasses with Allain Gaussain, Fabian Levy, Francois Paris, Jan Krzywicki, Maurice Wright, Nancy Van De Vate, Matthew Greenbaum, and Richard Danielpour.
Born in Philadelphia, William began his studies of piano at the age of 5 and composition at the age of 16. In his senior year of high school, William was mentored in music composition at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. After winning the Howard County Scholarship of the Arts, William enrolled as an undergraduate of music composition at Temple University where he earned scholarships and awards including the Diamond Scholarship, the Conwell Undergraduate Research Award, the Global Scholarship, the Garrigues Scholarship, and the Jeffrey Cornelius Tribute Award. During his undergraduate studies William spent six months in Vienna, Austria studying music at the Institute for European Studies and privately with Nancy Van De Vate. Graduating first in his class from the Boyer College of Music in the spring of 2010, William went on to study as a scholarship student at the Ecoles de Musique in Fontainebleau, France in the summer of 2010.
In 2011, William was named, by James MacMillan and Bob Chilcott, as a finalist in the King James Bible Composition Competition for his choral work, Sing Unto the Lord, which was premiered by the Royal College of Music Junior Department Choir at Temple Church in London. This summer, William will participate in the 2011 Acanthes summer course in Metz, France where he will work with Philippe Hurel, Unsuk Chin, and Oscar Strasnoy in addition to having his work Acrid Dance workshopped and performed by the Orchestre National de Lorraine.
With a particular interest in new ways to engage audiences, William recently premiered and streamed live on the web his interactive work Breaking News for mezzo soprano and chamber ensemble, a work where audience members had a say, through a web interface, how they wanted the piece to unfold as it was performed .
As a recipient of the coveted Marshall Scholarship, William is currently pursuing a master’s degree in music composition at The Royal College of Music in London.
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