Holcombe, B :: Afternoon of a Flute

Musicians Publications presents Bill Holcombe's 'Afternoon of a Flute' composed for alto flute and piano.

Bill Holcombe is primarily known as an arranger and composer of music for recording dates and symphony orchestras, however he has pursued a parallel career as a professional woodwind doubler.

While studying composition at the University of Pennsylvania, Bill was a pupil of Harold Bennett, then the piccolo player of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Later, Bill majored in flute performance at Julliard where he studied with Arthur Lora. After World War II, Bill was hired as a reed player and staff arranger for the Tommy Dorsey Band and later played reeds with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. He also played 1st flute, sax, and clarinet for Metro-Goldwyn Mayer at their New York City radio station, WMGM. In the late Fifties and throughout the sixties, he wrote several film scores and arranged for the recording orchestra 101 Strings.

In the seventies, Bill became one of Americas most popular published arrangers for the Concert Band and Orchestra. Bill is well recognized for his frequently performed Jazz Suites for jazz ensemble. Bill's Playing credits have included tours as first reed with Burt Bacharach; arranging and playing for jazz pianist Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. He also accepted commissions to arrange for over 100 symphony orchestras in the U.S. and internationally. On the podium, Bill has conducted the Trenton Symphony, the Virginia Symphony as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Today, Bill continues to be a prolific writer. He has written and edited over two hundred pieces for professional chamber music groups and developed an internationally acclaimed series of jazz etudes. Additionally, he has twice presented masterclasses at the French Flute Convention and at the British National Convention. At the '93 Flute Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, renowned flutist Raymond Guiot premiered Bill's Jazz Flute Concerto Op. 103 for flute and piano. In 1995, Bill composed Sonata #2 for Flute and Piano, commissioned by the James Pappoutsakis Society. He appears frequently as a clinician both in the US and Europe, where his masterclasses has received rave reviews. He is married to soprano Helen Holcombe and together they have six children and eleven grand children.