William Moss

William Moss studied painting and sculpture at Leeds College of Art before taking up music at the Royal Academy of Music in 1967. At the RAM he studied piano with Vivian Langrish and composition with James Iliff. Since graduating in 1971 he pursued further studies in composition with Nadia Boulanger and James Murray Brown and John Gardner at Durham University. Based in London he became part time tutor in Music Theatre at Morley College and touring pianist with The Society for Modern Music. In 1974 William Moss lectured in Music and Musical Instrument Technology at Newark College until 1989 and was Head of Music at City of Ely College from 1991.

Meanwhile he continued to compose and give recitals of mainly nineteenth and twentieth century piano music. He joined the panel of examiners for the Associated Examining Board in 1982 and is presently an examiner for the Oxford and Cambridge Examining Board. William Moss is currently organist at The Parish church of Long Sutton in South Lincolnshire. He has studied organ with Anne Marsden Thomas (St. Giles International Organ School) since 2003.

Compositions include large scale works for piano: ‘Concert’ is a music theatre piece composed for eleven pianists at one piano, dating from 1969 it was first performed at Morley College in 1970 and ‘Grand Etude’ a large scale aleatoric piece for prepared piano, first performed at The Royal Academy of Music in 1974. The most important recent compositions include Songs and Chamber Music. ‘Victoriana’ is a tonal work for Narrator, tenor, bass, wind quartet and piano, lasting some 35 minutes the piece is based on Victorian songs and ballads and dates from 1996. The harmonic language leans towards atonality in ‘Three Meditations on the Passing of Time’ for tenor, baritone and piano and Morte d’Artur for oboe, baritone and piano. These pieces were commissioned by the Fordham Music Society to celebrate the passing millennium and are settings of poems by Robert Herrick, D.H. Lawrence, Rupert Brooke and Tennyson. Organ works date from 2003 and include a transcription of the first Meditation, Fantasy variations on a Birthday Song (a joint composition with James Iliff) and most recently an assertive tonal piece ‘Variations on The Holly and the Ivy’ composed in 2007.

Variations on The Holy and the Ivy (2007) was performed during the 2007 AFNOM festival in London.

Contact information

William Moss
2 Clarence Court
Cliff Parade
Hunstanton
PE36 6EB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1485 537 087

Email: wms.sevenmus@yahoo.com