William Kraft

Concerto No. 1 for Timpani and Orchestra

            If there is a “grand old man” of American music, then it is surely William Kraft. Born in 1923, he was still active after a very long life as performer, composer, teacher, conductor, and pundit.  Along the way, he has performed with and for a most impressive list of the world’s great musicians, as well as garnering dozens of awards and commissions from the highest echelons of musical art.  His compositions for imaginative combinations of instruments, especially those featuring percussion, set a high bar for adventuresome works in an advanced style.