Thomas Wilson CBE FRSE (10 October 1927 – 12 June 2001) was an American-born Scottish composer of classical music.
Early life and education
Thomas Brendan Wilson was born in Trinidad, Colorado to British parents and moved to Britain with his family when he was 17 months old.
The family settled in the Glasgow, Scotland area where he lived and worked for the remainder of his life. Wilson was educated in Glasgow before taking an undergraduate course at St. Mary's College, Aberdeen. He then studied Music at the University of Glasgow, where he continued as a postgraduate, receiving a doctorate (DMus).
He served in the Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1948.
Career
One of the first honours graduates in music from Glasgow University, Wilson became a lecturer at his alma mater in 1957. He was later appointed a Reader (1971) and given a Personal Chair in 1977. He consistently played an active part in the musical life of the UK, holding executive and advisory positions in such organisations as the Scottish Arts Council, The New Music Group of Scotland, The Society for the Promotion of New Music, The Composers' Guild of Great Britain (chairman 1986–89) now the British Association of Composers and Songwriters, and The Scottish Society of Composers (of which he was a founder member).
His works have been played all over the world and embrace all forms - orchestral, choral-orchestral, chamber-orchestral, opera, ballet, brass band, vocal music of different kinds, and works for a wide variety of chamber ensembles and solo instruments. Wilson completed five symphonies, the fourth of which, Passeleth Tapestry, was premiered by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Bryden Thomson on 6 August 1988 in Paisley Abbey. He also completed several concertos and choral works. His largest work was an opera, Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1972–75), commissioned by Scottish Opera and based on the novel by James Hogg.
Wilson was awarded the CBE in 1990. The following year he was awarded an honorary DMus Degree from Glasgow University and created a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
The 80th anniversary of Wilson's birth on 10 October 1927 was marked by a performance of the composer's St Kentigern Suite on 17 January 2008 by the RSAMD Chamber Orchestra, and by a performance of the composer's Violin Concerto also in January 2008 by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
Death
Wilson died on 12 June 2001.
Works
Orchestral works
Symphony No. 1 (1955) (withdrawn) Toccata for orchestra (1959) Variations for orchestra (1960) Pas De Quoi (1964) Six little dances for strings. Symphony No. 2 (1965) Concerto for orchestra (1967) Touchstone (1967) Commissioned by the BBC for the Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts. Threnody (1970) music was taken from Wilson's opera "The Charcoal Burner". Ritornelli Per Archi (1972) Commissioned for the Edinburgh Festival by the Scottish Baroque Ensemble. Symphony No. 3 (1979) Commissioned by Musica Nova. Mosaics (1981) Commissioned for Cantilena by Radio Clyde. Introit (1982) Commissioned by BBC. Piano Concerto (1985) Commissioned by Bryden Thomson for David Wilde and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. St Kentigern Suite (1986) Commissioned by The Friends of Glasgow Cathedral. Viola Concerto (1987) Commissioned by James Durrant with assistance from the BBCSSO Trust. Symphony No. 4, Passeleth Tapestry (1988; numbered as a symphony 1996) Commissioned by Renfrew District Council together with Strathclyde Regional Council to mark Paisley's 500th anniversary as a Burgh of Barony. Carillon (1990) Commissioned by Glasgow city council in 1990 as part of its European City of Culture celebrations, as the inaugural work to celebrate the opening of the city's new Royal Concert Hall. Violin Concerto (1993) Commissioned by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and BP for Ernst Kovacic. Guitar Concerto (1996) Commissioned by Phillip Thorne. Symphony No. 5 (1998) Commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.