Michael Glenn Williams
Encyclopedia
Michael Glenn Williams is an American
composer
, pianist
and technologist
.
, beginning trumpet studies and composing at 8 years old. At 12 he was programming DEC PDP 8 minicomputers. He attended CSU Northridge as a dual major in composition and piano performance where he studied with Aurelio de la Vega, Danial Kessner, Frank Campo, and Francoise Regnat. He did graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music
as a composition major, where he worked with Samuel Adler
, Robert Morris
, Warren Benson
, pianist Rebecca Penneys
, and briefly with Joseph Schwantner
and David Burge
.
and other composers. He twice won the Northridge Chamber Music Award for performances of contemporary music.
for piano and orchestra, composed for pianist Sean Chen
; Princess Concerto for piano, narrator and orchestra; and The Gates of Hell
a series of tone poems based on the Rodin
sculptures. Williams also composed for movies including King of the Hill
, The Limey
, Younger and Younger
, The House of Yes
, and Wicker Park
. He also composed cues and performed piano for the TV series Chicago Hope
.
802.21
working group, secretary for the IEEE 1275 Open Firmware
working group, and member of the IEEE 1754 Open Microprocessor working group. He authored the program SuperScore, one of the first computer editing and printing programs for music, and co-developed the Sonata font, the first music font for professional computer typesetting
of music. He authored articles for the IEICE, Music Technology, Electronic Music Educator, and Klavier. He was awarded the title of Leading Scientist while working at Nokia
. He holds patents in a variety of areas including network security, clustering, authentication and secure search.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and technologist
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
.
Biography
Williams' earliest years were spent in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, beginning trumpet studies and composing at 8 years old. At 12 he was programming DEC PDP 8 minicomputers. He attended CSU Northridge as a dual major in composition and piano performance where he studied with Aurelio de la Vega, Danial Kessner, Frank Campo, and Francoise Regnat. He did graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
as a composition major, where he worked with Samuel Adler
Samuel Adler (composer)
Samuel Hans Adler is an American composer and conductor.-Biography:Adler was born to a Jewish family in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Hugo Chaim Adler, a cantor and composer, and Selma Adler. The family fled to the United States in 1939, where Hugo became the cantor of Temple Emanuel in...
, Robert Morris
Robert Morris (composer)
Robert Morris is an American composer and music theorist.-Work in music theory:As a music theorist, Morris' work has bridged an important gap between the rigorously academic and the highly experimental. Born in Cheltenham, England in 1943, Morris received his musical education at the Eastman...
, Warren Benson
Warren Benson
Warren Benson was an American composer. His compositions consist mostly of music for wind instruments and percussion...
, pianist Rebecca Penneys
Rebecca Penneys
Rebecca Penneys is an American-born pianist of Russian-Jewish decent. Penneys is considered a world-class recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator. In 1965, she was the youngest contestant to have ever entered the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw,...
, and briefly with Joseph Schwantner
Joseph Schwantner
Joseph C. Schwantner is a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer and educator and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was awarded the 1970 Charles Ives Prize....
and David Burge
David Burge
David Burge is an American pianist, conductor and composer. As a performer, he is noted for championing contemporary pieces....
.
Performance career
Williams is performing as pianist in The Chopin Project, with the jazz group 1 40 4 20, and as a studio pianist for film and television. He premiered works written for him by Jeffery Cotton, Jeff RonaJeff Rona
Jeffrey Carl “Jeff” Rona is an American composer for film. He was a member of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures. His credits include Sharkwater, Slow Burn and Whisper.-Biography:...
and other composers. He twice won the Northridge Chamber Music Award for performances of contemporary music.
Works
Williams composes for solo piano, chamber ensembles, choir and solo voice. Works for orchestra include TarantellaTarantella
The term tarantella groups a number of different southern Italian couple folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 6/8 time , accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized of traditional Italian music. The specific dance name varies with every region, for instance...
for piano and orchestra, composed for pianist Sean Chen
Sean Chen
Sean Chen is an Asian American comic book artist.-Career:Chen is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where he received a bachelor's degree in industrial design. He started his career after being discovered by Barry Windsor-Smith...
; Princess Concerto for piano, narrator and orchestra; and The Gates of Hell
The Gates of Hell
The Gates of Hell is a monumental sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from "The Inferno", the first section of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It stands at 6 m high, 4 m wide and 1 m deep and contains 180 figures. The figures range from...
a series of tone poems based on the Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
sculptures. Williams also composed for movies including King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
, The Limey
The Limey
The Limey is a 1999 American crime film, directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Peter Fonda and Barry Newman.Filming locations included Big Sur and L.A.-Plot:...
, Younger and Younger
Younger and Younger
Younger And Younger is 1993 American comedy film directed by Percy Adlon.-Plot:A strange man owns a self-storage facility and lives in a reality of his own until reality comes crashing down.-Cast:*Donald Sutherland.....Jonathan Younger...
, The House of Yes
The House of Yes
The House of Yes is a 1997 film starring Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Geneviève Bujold, Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Tori Spelling. The movie is based on the play of the same name, which was written by Wendy MacLeod. It was produced by Robert Berger and was released by Miramax Films on October 10,...
, and Wicker Park
Wicker Park (film)
Wicker Park is a 2004 American psychological drama/romantic mystery film directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett. The film is a remake of the 1996 French movie L'Appartement...
. He also composed cues and performed piano for the TV series Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...
.
Notable recordings
- Digital Animation Stradivarius Records, Enrico PompiliEnrico PompiliEnrico Pompili is an Italian pianist.A native of Bolzano, he won several Italian national competitions before being prized at the Dublin International Piano Competition. In 1994 he was second to Viktor Lyadov at the Hamamatsu Competition, and next year he was awarded a 2nd prize at the XIII Paloma...
and Gabriele BaldocciGabriele BaldocciGabriele Baldocci is an italian pianist.Baldocci is known worldwide since he is performing with the legendary argentinean pianist Martha Argerich...
pianists - Lyricism: Songs Without Words, AIX Records, Roberto ProssedaRoberto ProssedaRoberto Prosseda is an Italian classical pianist. His name is related to his Mendelssohn's CDs recorded for Decca , dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn's unknown piano works...
, pianist - Chroma, Capstone, Jeri-Mae Astolfi pianist
- Wet, Pocket Jazz Records, Michael Williams with 1 40 4 20, artists
- Jazz Trespassers, Pocket Jazz Records, 1 40 4 20 artists
Technologist
As a technologist, Williams has served as the Vice Chair of the IEEEInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
802.21
IEEE 802.21
802.21 is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover or vertical handover...
working group, secretary for the IEEE 1275 Open Firmware
Open Firmware
Open Firmware, or OpenBoot in Sun Microsystems parlance, is a standard defining the interfaces of a computer firmware system, formerly endorsed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . It originated at Sun, and has been used by Sun, Apple, IBM, and most other non-x86 PCI chipset...
working group, and member of the IEEE 1754 Open Microprocessor working group. He authored the program SuperScore, one of the first computer editing and printing programs for music, and co-developed the Sonata font, the first music font for professional computer typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
of music. He authored articles for the IEICE, Music Technology, Electronic Music Educator, and Klavier. He was awarded the title of Leading Scientist while working at Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
. He holds patents in a variety of areas including network security, clustering, authentication and secure search.
External links and references
- Michael Williams website
- SuperScore Announcement at CES http://www.landley.net/history/mirror/8bits/ti99/time1987.htm
- Directions in Media Independent Handover, IEICE Transactions http://ietfec.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/E88-A/7/1772
- The Chopin Project http://www.youtube.com/user/gwizvideo
- Announcement of IEEE 1754 Open Microprocessor Standard http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-sparc/1994/03/19/0000.html
- IEEE Std 1275-1994: IEEE Standard for Boot Firmware (Initialization Configuration) Firmware: Core Requirements and Practices (ISBN Number: 1-55937-426-8)
- Digital Baton Patent
- Clustering Patent
- Patent for Prioritized Network Access for emergencies
- Patent for Parallel Scanning of network traffic by multiple entities
- Patent for Dynamic, continuous, authenticated web, email and messaging search and query system
- Patent for Integrated voice mail and email with searchable voice