BOLCOM, WILLIAM

born May 26, 1938, Seattle, Wash., U.S. in full William Elden Bolcom American composer, pianist, and teacher whose compositions encompass many idioms, from popular cabaret songs to more traditional classical scores. Bolcom graduated from the University of Washington in 1958 and studied composition with Darius Milhaud at Mills College (195861) and with Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory. After continuing his studies at Stanford University (D.M.A., 1964), he taught or was composer-in-residence at a number of schools before accepting a position at the University of Michigan (from 1973). Throughout these years Bolcom developed his compositional abilities, attempting to break down what he saw as the artificial barriers between popular and serious music. He produced compositions of great diversity, including Dynamite Tonight (1963), a cabaret opera; 12 Etudes for piano (195966); Open House (1975), a song cycle based on poems by Theodore Roethke; Graceful Ghost Rag (1971), one of several ragtime compositions; and the much-acclaimed, William Blake-inspired Songs of Innocence and Experience (195682). From 1971 Bolcom and his third wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, performed concerts of American popular songs. Much of their repertoire has been recorded.