William Grosvenor Neil’s compositions present the listener with an intense, brilliant effect (FANFARE MAGAZINE) and represent contemporary writing at its most intellectual probing (CHICAGO TRIBUNE). His extremely characteristic harmonic world (CLASSICAL CD REVIEW) is fundamental to the unfolding of his music, and the range of sonic experiences (in his music) is astounding (SOUNDBOARD). In the 1980s, Neil was appointed as the first composer-in-residence with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first residency of its kind with a major American opera company. Lyric premiered his opera, The Guilt of Lillian Sloan, in June of 1986. In 1987, following his tenure as composer-in-residence at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and a three-year stint co-managing the New Music Chicago Festival, Neil pursued a parallel career in the financial services industry. Now retired, Neil enjoys fulfilling commissions, performing, and serving as a host on a local community FM radio station. The Rome Prize and the Charles Ives Award are among his honors, and his work has been recognized through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, fellowships from the Fulbright Commission, the American Symphony Orchestra League, and awards from ASCAP and BMI. In 2008, he served as the McKnight Visiting Composer with the American Composers Forum for the city of Winona, MN, and, more recently, in the fall of 2020, Neil served as an Artist in Residence at the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Inspired by the pinnacles and spires of the park surrounded by the tall grass prairie ecosystem, he composed his tone poem, Prairie Music for orchestra, which was premiered by the Wisconsin Philharmonic Orchestra in the Fall of 2025. In 2022, Neil was commissioned to orchestrate Rachmaninov’s Suites No. 1 and No. 2 for two pianos. The resulting work, Symphonic Sketches, was premiered by the Wisconsin Philharmonic, conducted by Alexander Platt in November of 2023. Recent commissions include Chasing Clouds for flute and two guitars, From a Litany, for soprano, guitar, and saxophone, and Sonata for Flute and Piano
He has composed music for celebrated musicians, including John Bruce Yeh and Chicago Pro Musica (Concerto for Piccolo Clarinet), guitarist Michael Lorimer, (Fantasia), soprano Barbara Ann Martin (The Waters are Shaking the Moon), flutist, Jonathan Borja, (Objets Trouvés, Sonata for Flute and Piano), and pianist, Martin Jones (Six Preludes, Sonata for Piano, and Six Tangos.) Duo Sureño, guitarist Robert Nathanson and soprano, Nancy King have commissioned and recorded multiple chamber works including At the Edge of the Body’s Night, Out of Darkness Into Light, Love Poem with a Knife, Continuum, From a Litany, and A Feather in a Shell. His Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra, commissioned by the Abelson Foundation, was premiered in Prague by the Czech National Symphony conducted by Paul Freeman and has been recorded and released on the New Albany label. Other significant performances include the premiere of his piano trio, Notte dei Cristalli, at the Teatro Alla Specola in Padova by Trio Malipiero, the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Sinfonia delle Gioie) by The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, directed by Alexander Platt, and the premiere of Out of Darkness Into Light at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC. Italian pianist Giacomo Dalla Libera premiered Nocturne No. 1, Prelude No. 3, and Tango No. 2 at Morely College in London, and clarinetist Fàtima Boix premiered Concerto for Piccolo Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. In 2022, clarinetist Corey Mackey premiered his Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra with the Texas Christian University Orchestra, conducted by Germán Gutiérrez. He regularly co-hosts the radio program, A New Sound on WTJU, Charlottesville, VA, a two-hour contemporary classical music program that features new releases of contemporary music and interviews with American composers.
Education
He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music & Case Western Reserve University, where he studied with composer Donald Erb. He pursued advanced musical studies with Joachim Blüme at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Cologne, Germany, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Composition from the University of Michigan School of Music, studying composition with Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, Eugene Kurtz, and William Albright.