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During the Great Depression of 1929, young Bill Fowler taught
himself to play blues harmonica, dirt-band mandolin, Dixieland tenor
banjo, and finally jazz guitar, ending up at age 17 in a Salt Lake
City speakeasy trio. Still unable to read music at 21, Bill headed
a Continental combo at Sun Valley, Idaho, Union Pacific's plush ski
resort. At 25, after induction into the U. S. Army during WWII, he
put together a non-official battalion marching band, which upon
landing in Marseilles, became a dance band/show group servicing
ETO GI's. An exhausting attempt to write a parade arrangement
of the French National Anthem soon convinced Bill of the wisdom
of learning how to read music.At war's end, having married the daughter of a University Professor and consequently having been encouraged to seek some higher education, Bill enrolled as a freshman at the University of Utah, then continued there for seven years, broken only by periods at the American Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music. As Bill was pursuing his MFA and Ph D degrees and beginning his twenty-year teaching stint at the Univ of Utah, Beatrice was producing her own musical aggregation, the five Fowler Brothers - Bruce, Steve, Tom, Walt, and Ed - all now pro performers. While teaching historic theory at the U of U, subjects like 16th Century Counterpoint and Bach Chorale Harmony, Bill stayed active in current music making. He headed combos; wrote and narrated an illustrated History of Jazz lecture at MENC conventions; directed the Western Division of the National Stage Band Camps; produced the Intermountain Jazz Festival and the clinics at the Mobile Festival. And he continued classical composing - receiving a Rockefeller Foundation commission; winning the Siena International Choral Composition contest; and co-winning the American Division of the Prix Italia. And with C. Richard Evans, he co-invented the first Piezo-electric guitar pickup Bill also initiated the Jazz Major at the U of U, with its Visiting Jazz Faculty feature. Then he designed the first college guitar degree in the United States, which led to an invitation from Segovia to study the Segovia techniques and teaching methods at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Building on the diversity of his musical background, Bill opened a new career - writing -- when he joined the staff of Down Beat magazine as Education Editor and regular columnist, a position he held some 13 years. Then he joined the staff of Keyboard magazine as Theory Columnist for 7 years. In 1974, Bill moved to the University of Colorado at Denver. And the same year he formed his own publishing company, Fowler Music, which has produced more than 22 books. After retiring from the University of Colorado in 1994, Bill moved to Los Angeles, where he continues to compose in a variety of styles, from symphonic works to popular songs. BACKGROUND Education: B. M. American Conservatory, Chicago M. F. A. University of Utah Ph. D. University of Utah Graduate studies, Accademia Chigiani, Siena, Italy Film scoring, Institut de Luce, Rome Guitar Study: Johnny Smith, Jazz Guitar Andres Segovia, Classical Guitar Teaching: Professor of Music, University of Utah (best teacher award) Professor of Music, University of Colorado (best teacher award and best research award) Instituted first Guitar Degree program in the U. S. Composition Awards: Winner, American Division, Prix Italia and Siena International Composition Contests. Winner, APMIN Award Commissions: Rockefeller Institute, Rosenblatt Foundation Authorships: Ten guitar instruction books Four bass instruction books Six keyboard instruction books Six music theory and composition instruction books Education Editor and Columnist, Down Beat magazine (thirteen years) Theory Columnist, Keyboard magazine (six years) Lectures: History of Jazz, Music Educators Conference, St Louis History of Jazz, Music Educators Conference, San Diego Hundreds of miscellaneous lectures Directorships: Director of Clinics, Mobile Jazz Festival Director, Intermountain Collegiate Jazz Festival, Salt Lake City Director, National Collegiate Jazz Festival, Chicago Director, Western Division, National Association of Jazz Educators Director, Western Division, NationalStage Band Camps Miscellaneous: Co-inventor, piezo electric guitar pickup Member, President's People-to-People Committe |
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