William Wallace Gilchrist (January 8, 1846 – December 20, 1916) was an American

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...

 and a major figure in nineteenth century music of Philadelphia

Music of Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is home to a vibrant and well-documented musical heritage, stretching back to colonial times. Innovations in classical music, opera, R&B, jazz and soul have earned the music of Philadelphia national and international renown...

.

Gilchrist was born in Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

 in 1846 and at the age of eleven months moved with his family to Philadelphia, where he studied music with Hugh Archibald Clarke

Hugh Archibald Clarke

Hugh Archibald Clarke is a Canadian composer, organist, and teacher. He was born in Toronto, Canada on August 15, 1839, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 16, 1927, at the age of 88 .-Early Life:...

. His father's business having been ruined during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, young Gilchrist turned to the law and to business for his own living, but finally decided to take up music as a career. With the exception of a short period in Cincinnati (1871–1872), he lived in Philadelphia, where he was active as church organist, teacher, and leader of musical clubs. He founded the Mendelssohn Club

Mendelssohn Club

The Mendelssohn Club is a music institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1874 by William Wallace Gilchrist, a major figure in the 19th century music of Philadelphia. The chorus is under the direction of Alan Harler, professor of choral conducting at Temple University...

 of Philadelphia (1874).

In 1882 Gilchrist won the Cincinnati Festival

Cincinnati May Festival

The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, held during the last two weekends in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when Saengerfests were held in that city, bringing singers from all over the United States and abroad to perform large...

 Prize for his setting of the 46th Psalm, for soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 solo, chorus, and orchestra. Among his other choral works are Ode to the Sun, Journey of Life, The Uplifted Gates, and Legend of the Bended Bow. He composed two nonprogrammatic symphonies, and some chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

, including a nonet

Nonet

A nonet refers to a group of nine.*In music, a nonet is a composition which requires nine musicians for a performance. Spohr and Martinu composed nonets....

 for piano

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...

, strings

String section

The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...

, flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

, clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 and horn (recently published, along with Gilchrist's Piano Trio and Piano Quintet) by Soundpost.org.

Although Gilchrist was one of the very few American composers of this period who did not study in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, his style is no less imitative and conventional than that of his Europeanized colleagues.

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