William McGlaughlin was born on October 3,1943 and is an American composer, conductor, music educator, and Peabody Award-winning classical music radio host.
19 Facts About Bill McGlaughlin
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Bill McGlaughlin is the host and music director of the public radio programs Exploring Music and Saint Paul Sunday.
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Beyond his career as a broadcaster and music educator, Bill McGlaughlin has spent a decade as a professional orchestral musician, over three decades as a conductor, and a decade as a successful composer.
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Bill McGlaughlin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his unusual accent stems from his Philadelphia childhood and the influence of his Scottish-American grandfather, with whom he lived during his early childhood and late teens.
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Bill McGlaughlin absorbed the music of opera at a very young age, as his draftsman father listened while in his at-home workshop.
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When Bill McGlaughlin was 6, his father gave him a harmonica, and together they enjoyed playing their favorite opera melodies by ear.
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Bill McGlaughlin's father had many instrumental classical albums, which Bill enjoyed listening to in his own bedroom.
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Bill McGlaughlin's mother, a high-school English teacher, was a music lover.
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In high school, Bill McGlaughlin took up the trombone, which he further studied in college, obtaining his Bachelor of Music degree from Philadelphia's Temple University in 1967.
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Bill McGlaughlin became assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra during his period with the Pittsburgh Symphony.
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Bill McGlaughlin's practice paid off: In 1975, he was awarded the Exxon-Arts Conducting Endowment, and an assistant conductorship at the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
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Bill McGlaughlin has continuously had numerous guest conducting engagements, from a great variety of orchestras around the US.
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Bill McGlaughlin was early on a champion of living composers and new music, dating back to his Pennsylvania days and his involvement with groups such as the Penn Contemporary Players and the Philadelphia Composers Forum.
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Bill McGlaughlin himself founded the Pittsburgh Camerata, which focused on contemporary music, and he was a steady proponent of living composers' works in Kansas City as well.
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Bill McGlaughlin has been the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio series Center Stage from Wolf Trap since its inception in 1999.
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Bill McGlaughlin is the host, since 2007, of the newly relaunched nationally syndicated radio series Concerts from the Library of Congress.
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Bill McGlaughlin has co-produced and assisted on most of Allyson's CDs, and often accompanies her on the road when she is touring.
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Bill McGlaughlin continues to compose, and continues to do guest conducting, concert hosting and lecturing, and other classical music outreach around the country.
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Bill McGlaughlin has two grown children from a previous marriage.