'BEOWOLF' IS A SYMPHONIC POEM BASED ON 3 STATEMENTS FROM THE EPIC POEM. MVMT. I- THE GREAT HALL, II- THE SCION OF CAIN, III- BEOWOLF-A FEAST OF LIFE. COMPOSED BY WILLIAM F. MCBETH. PERFORMED BY THE TEXAS TECH CONCERT BAND. CONVERTED FROM THE LP.
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Story behind the song
William Francis McBeth was born March 9, 1933 in Ropesville, Texas (near Lubbock). He attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. McBeth is a prolific composer, whose musical repertoire has become a universal standard in wind band literature. He is also one of the most respected conductors of the present day.
McBeth has received the ASCAP Special Award every year since 1965. In 1988, he was awarded Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award for his achievement and continued contribution to American music.
From 1957 until his retirement in 1996, McBeth taught at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. In 1975, he was named Composer Laureate of Arkansas, the first Composer Laureate named in the United States.
His major wind works include:
Chant and Jubilo
Praises
Canto
Cavata
Masque
Kaddish
Joyant Narrative
To Be Fed By Ravens
Capriccio Concertant
Drayton Hall Esprit
Wine From These Grapes
Of Sailors and Whales
When Rossi Strikes
When Honor Whispers and Shouts
The Dream Catcher
Divergents
The Seventh Seal
Drammatico
Scaramouche
Estampie
In 1962, McBeth conducted the Arkansas All-State Band. One of its members of the tenor saxophone section was future president Bill Clinton.
He served as the third conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from 1970 until 1973.
In a recent visit to Christopher Newport University, McBeth said, "I've always hated The Beatles. Four boys from Liverpool with fake Alabama accents... and everything they play, they stole from Little Richie."