Frank Wigglesworth

Biography

Frank Wigglesworth (1918-1996) was a composer, conductor, performer and teacher
who was a resident of New York's Greenwich Village for more than 40 years. Born
in Boston in 1918, Wigglesworth had an interest in music from an early age,
playing both the violin and viola and began composing at the age of eleven. He
went on to study composition with Otto Luening, Henry Cowell and Ernest White
at Columbia University and Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C..

In 1946, he
joined the faculty of the Greenwich House Music School, where he was associated
with (and later studied with) the avant-garde composer Edgard Varese. In 1947
he joined the faculty of Columbia University, and in 1954, after spending four
years in Europe as a recipient of the Prix de Rome, he began teaching at Queens
College and the New School for Social Research.

Wigglesworth was a Composer in Residence at the American Academy of Rome from
1969-1970 and at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference in 1975 and 1985. He
served on many boards, including The MacDowell Colony from 1985-1988 and the
Youth Orchestra of New York. He was also the founder of the Thursday Evening
Concerts at the Greenwich House Music School, organized in 1987. Wigglesworth
was President of the American Composers Alliance from 1980-1984.

  • ACE Publications

    52 title(s)
    Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
    Frank Wigglesworth QUINTET FOR BRASS
    Brass quintet: horn, trumpet (2), trombone, tuba
    Frank Wigglesworth RECESSIONAL
    Organ
    Frank Wigglesworth SAGE CITY LIVES, for Orch
    Flute (2)/piccolo, oboe, clarinet (2), bassoon, horn (2), trumpet (2), trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (2), strings
    Frank Wigglesworth SEA WINDS, for Str Orch
    2-1-vc/bs
    Frank Wigglesworth SERENADE FOR FLUTE, VIOLA, & GUITAR
    Flute, viola, guitar
    Frank Wigglesworth SHORT MASS
    SATB
    Frank Wigglesworth SKY SONG
    Horn
    Frank Wigglesworth SLEEP BECALMED
    SATB, flute (2), oboe (2), clarinet (2), horn (2), trumpet (2), trombone, percussion, strings
    Frank Wigglesworth SONATA FOR HARPSICHORD
    Harpsichord
    Frank Wigglesworth SONATINA(B.+B.)
    Keyboard
    Frank Wigglesworth SONG
    High voice, piano
    Frank Wigglesworth SOUND PIECE FOR VIOLA & PIANO
    Viola, piano
    Frank Wigglesworth SUMMER MUSIC
    Bass clarinet
    Frank Wigglesworth SYMPHONY NO. 2
    String orchestra: 2-1-1-1
    Frank Wigglesworth TALE OF SUMMER, Fr Hn & Str Orch
    Horn, string orchestra
    Frank Wigglesworth THREE PORTRAITS, for Str Orch string orchestra
    Frank Wigglesworth TIBERIUS ON CAPRI (from 2 Pieces After Suetonius)
    Tenor, cello
    Frank Wigglesworth TRILLIUM Flute, violin
    Frank Wigglesworth TRIO (1970)
    Violin, viola, cello
    Frank Wigglesworth TRIO 1986 (Trio for the Purchase Woodwind Trio)
    Oboe, clarinet, bassoon
    Frank Wigglesworth TRIO 1989
    Violin, viola, cello
    Frank Wigglesworth TRIO FOR FLUTES
    3 flutes
    Frank Wigglesworth TRIO-SONATA
    Trumpet (2). trombone
    Frank Wigglesworth TWIN SONGS
    Baroque or modern flute
    Frank Wigglesworth WILLOWDALE HANDCAR
    Soprano, countertenor, basso; flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, percussion, strings (or w/ piano)

    Additional Works