Merrill Bradshaw (June 18, 1929 – July 12, 2000) was an American composer and professor at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU), where he was composer-in-residence from 1967 to 1994. Bradshaw grew up in

Lyman, Wyoming Lyman is a town in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,135 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2010 census As of the census ...

;

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

; and

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). He studied music theory at BYU with John R. Halliday and others, after which he continued his studies in composition at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He became a faculty member at BYU in 1957. He was chairman of composition and theory from 1973 to 1983, and the executive director of the

Barlow Endowment for Music Composition The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition is a scholarship established in September 1983 through the generosity of Milton A. and Gloria Barlow. Motivated by their love of music, the Barlows presented a substantial gift to Brigham Young University ...

from 1983 to 1999. From 1973 to 1978 he chaired an LDS Church committee to revise the hymnbook, although the committee was suspended before they published their intended hymnal. A different committee authored the 1985 hymnal. Bradshaw composed many pieces in an eclectic style, most notably ''The Articles of Faith'' (1960), Symphony No. 3 (1967), Symphony No. 4 (1969), "Psalm XCVI" (1979), ''Four Mountain Sketches'' (1974), the oratorio ''The Restoration'' (1974), and a

viola concerto A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Throughout music history, especially during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, viola was viewed mo ...

titled ''Homages'' (1979). He collaborated closely with BYU ensemble directors Ralph Laycock and Ralph Woodward, who often directed premieres of his works. He condemned music that was sentimental or merely entertaining but acknowledged that

Mormon art Mormon art comprises all visual art created to depict the principles and teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), as well as art deriving from the inspiration of an artist's LDS religious views. Mormon art includes ...

could encompass many styles.

Early life and education

Bradshaw was born on June 18, 1929, in Lyman, Wyoming, to Melvin K. Bradshaw and Lorene Hamblin. He went to junior high school in Salt Lake City and high school in Portland, Oregon, while his father oversaw the construction of air landing facilities in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. The family moved back to Lyman, where Bradshaw graduated from high school as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

. While in Lyman, Bradshaw traveled on Saturdays to study piano with Frank Asper. Bradshaw started undergraduate studies at

(BYU) in 1947, where he was mentored by John R. Halliday. He served a mission for

(LDS Church) in Switzerland from 1948–1951. After returning from his mission, he was accepted into BYU's A Capella choir, where he met Janet Spilsbury, whom he married in 1953. Besides Halliday, Bradshaw studied with

Leon Dallin Glen Leon Dallin Jr. (March 26, 1918 Silver City, Utah – December 31, 1993)"Glen Leon Dallin, 31 Dec 199 ...

and

Crawford Gates Crawford Marion Gates (December 29, 1921 – June 9, 2018) was an American musician, composer, and conductor known for his contributions to the body of music for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Early life and educati ...

at BYU. He was an assistant director of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps Male Chorus for one year and graduated in music theory in 1954. He continued studying at BYU and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in music theory and composition. Bradshaw received both a masters in music and a doctorate of musical arts from the University of Illinois, which he attended from 1955 to 1956 and again from 1961 to 1962. There he studied with pianist

Claire Richards Claire Richards (born 17 August 1977) is an English singer and member of the pop group Steps. As a solo artist, Richards has released two studio albums: her debut, '' My Wildest Dreams'', was released in 2019 and ''Euphoria'', a covers album, ...

. He also studied with

Gordon Binkerd Gordon Ware Binkerd (May 22, 1916 – September 5, 2003) was an American classical music composer and pianist. An eminent and prolific composer, his best known works include his choral worksTomorrow the Fox Will Come to TownRobert Kelly,

Robert Moffat Palmer Robert Moffat (variously "Moffatt" and "Moffett") Palmer (b. June 2, 1915, Syracuse, New York; d. July 3, 2010, Ithaca, New York) was an American composer, pianist and educator. He composed more than 90 works,''Ithaca Journal'' obituary, July 5� ...

, and

Burrill Phillips Leroy Burrill Phillips (November 9, 1907 – June 22, 1988) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. Biography Phillips was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied at the College of Music at the University of Denver with Edwin Stringham and at ...

. His doctoral dissertation was "Tonal structure in the early works of

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

." He joined the faculty at BYU in 1957.

Career

Bradshaw was BYU's first composer-in-residence from 1967 to 1994. He was chairman of composition and theory from 1973 to 1983. He worked closely with Ralph Laycock, BYU's orchestra conductor, and Ralph Woodward, the conductor of BYU's A Capella choir, in getting his various compositions performed. Bradshaw was president of the Arts Council of Central Utah and one of its founders in 1968. He also contributed to the State Institute of the Arts. He received the Karl G. Maeser Research and Creativity Award in 1967, and was a Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 1981. Bradshaw was the executive director of the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition from 1983 to 1999 and directed the Barlow International competitions. The Barlow Endowment became a large commissioning program for both LDS and non-LDS composers. From 1973 to 1978 Bradshaw served the LDS Church as head of composition for the Church Music Committee and also chaired an LDS Church committee to revise the hymnbook. The committee planned to make some hymns lower to encourage everyone to sing the melody line and to include more international songs. They also planned to exclude many hymns present in the 1950 version of the hymnal, including patriotic hymns and most of the men's and women's arrangements. Some people in church leadership disagreed with the committee's decisions, and the committee stopped meeting in 1977. The committee's efforts were suspended without final result in 1978, and the project was not revisited until 1983. The advisory committee to the Church Music Division, a separate committee, decided on the final 1985 version of the hymnal, which was much more similar to the 1950 version than Bradshaw's committee had planned.

Compositions

Bradshaw composed in an eclectic style. Ronald Staheli, later longtime director of acclaimed The BYU Singers, wrote that "Dr. Bradshaw's gift was using musical material or styles that had already been employed by others, but fashioning such harmonies, colors, and styles into works that were true and authentic to his own creative instincts and abilities." He composed music in the style of anthems, lyrical music, and music with noise effects and chord clusters, among other styles. He set Mormon texts to styles that were not intended for worship services, as in ''The Articles of Faith''. One critic wrote that Bradshaw softened dissonances and made "tonal allusions." Bradshaw described most of his melodies as "long, somewhat singable," and frequently used

chromaticism Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...

to "push the bounds of tonality." He often used parallel motion, asymmetric meters, and syncopated rhythms. Bradshaw's work was performed in many orchestras, including the

Detroit Symphony The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

Phoenix Symphony The Phoenix Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Phoenix, Arizona. The orchestra performs primarily at Phoenix Symphony Hall, and is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the state of Arizona. History Founded in 1947, th ...

San Diego Symphony The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in San Diego, California. The orchestra performs at Jacobs Music Center and the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. It serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera. History On December 6, ...

, Perth Symphony, and Queensland Philharmonic. Laycock Woodward Staheli

Bradshaw won the composer's award while attending the University of Illinois, and Michael Kurkjian performed his piano concerto in 1958. ''The Articles of Faith'' (1960) for solo voices used the text from the LDS Articles of Faith and drew on multiple styles of composition. He avoided popular music idioms. According to Bradshaw himself, he used

leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...

s to "establish a bond between he layman’sexperience and my expression." Daniel McDavitt, writing on Bradshaw for his dissertation, wrote that the work was "rich in symbolism but lacking in overall coherence." In 1968 the Utah Symphony played Bradshaw's Third Symphony, which the BYU Symphony had premiered in 1967. A local critic wrote that "his usage of the myriad of contemporary compositional devices show him to be a master craftsman." Glenn R. Williams, a professor of music, wrote that the symphony is "a very lyrical outpouring within the framework of the serial or 12-tone composition" and that the scoring "effectively produce an amazing clarity and balance of the orchestral sonorities." Bradshaw wrote "Feathers" for the 1968 BYU Summer Music Clinic in honor of Bernard Goodman. In 1969, the BYU Symphony premiered his one-movement Fourth Symphony, which he dedicated to

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

. "Psalm XCVI" (1979), Bradshaw's best-known

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

work other than his later

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

, is very technically demanding. Staheli stated in 2011 that the works were the most difficult he had ever conducted. The piece employs a chromatic style, with some polyphony, at times dividing into 12 parts, with many differing rhythmic figures. The BYU Philharmonic played his ''Four Mountain Sketches'' in 1974. Critic Donald Dierks noted that the style of the pieces is old-fashioned; he wrote: "the idiom would have been passé in the 1940s." That same year Bradshaw's oratorio ''The Restoration'' premiered at the Mormon Festival of Arts. The oratorio was the product of two years of work and incorporated elements of jazz and popular hymns. The performances sold out within two hours and were well received. Additional performances were given in 1976 and 1980. The oratorio was endorsed by apostle

Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 until h ...

. Fellow Mormon leaders and artists congratulated Bradshaw on his oratorio. Assistant to the university president Lorin Wheelwright wrote that the work would "give our Church members a new sense of confidence in our cultural roots and modes of artistic expression." Samuel Adler asked how Bradshaw could write such a work in "this century," to which Bradshaw replied that he wanted to "speak to the people here n Provo, Utah" In the ''Deseret News'', Harold Lundstrom wrote that the work was emotionally expressive but "hardly ..a traditional oratorio." Noting the many styles of music present in the oratorio, he wrote that there was "something for everyone." McDavitt wrote that it was "accessible, but not condescending." The

International Viola Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * International (New Order album), ' ...

commissioned him to write a

, ''Homages'', in 1979 in honor of

William Primrose William Primrose (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in v ...

.; Jun Takahira premiered the work in 1980, with David Dalton directing the U.S. Air Force Orchestra. Bradshaw wrote "We Will Sing of Zion", which is in the 1985 LDS church hymnal. He also wrote two hymns that are in the ''Children's Songbook'': "The Still Small Voice" and "Listen, Listen". These two hymns are the only two that lack chord symbols, which have accompaniments in unusual

modes Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is the setting fo ...

Views on music

In a 1959 column in ''The Daily Herald'', Bradshaw explained that "sentiment and art are miles apart." His distaste for sentiment was apparent in his scathing review of a performance of

Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 30 March 1980) was an Italian British conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book '' British Hit Singles & Albums'' ...

: "Anyone who went to the concert looking for artistic excellence must have come away disappointed unless they were fooled by the 'ballyhoo' and showmanship that preceded the 'concert'." In "Toward a Mormon Aesthetic" he drew comparisons between Plato's ideal and Mormonism's belief in a perfect celestial realm. He wrote that art concentrates on the values of human experience while entertainment seeks to please an audience. In 1995, Bradshaw spoke on the problem of defining a "Mormon style": "Perhaps we have discovered too many successful and inspiring works in too many different styles to be able to commit ourselves irrevocably to a single one. Moreover, I think it neither possible nor desirable to try to set up the parameters for such a style by some sort of manifesto." He encouraged composers to use the style that best expressed their artistic desires.

Personal life

Merrill and Janet Bradshaw had seven children. Bradshaw died on July 12, 2000, in

Bountiful, Utah Bountiful is a city in Davis County, Utah. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 45,762, an eight percent increase over the 2010 figure of 42,552. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and ...

Selected works

Many of Bradshaw's works are unpublished or are out-of-print, as Bradshaw did not seek publishers for his work.

Orchestral

* Symphony No. 1 (1957) * ''Orchestra Music'', Symphony No. 2 (1962) * ''Piece'' for strings (1967) * Symphony No. 3 (1967) * Symphony No. 4 (1968) * ''Peace Memorial'' (1971) * ''Four Mountain Sketches'' (1974) * ''Centennial Fantasy'' (1975) * ''Yankee Celebration'' (1975) * ''Piece'' for 2 horns and strings (1977) * Symphony No. 5 (1978) * ''A Symphonic Tribute'' (1984) * ''Descants'' (1986) * ''Kinesis'' (1988) * ''Museum Piece'' (1993) * ''Life Song'' (1996)

Concertante

* Concerto for piano and orchestra (1955) * ''Divertimento'' for 4 pianos and orchestra (1963) * Concerto for viola and orchestra (1979) * ''Homages'', Concerto for viola and small orchestra (1979) * Concerto for violin and orchestra (1981)

Chamber music

* ''Meditation'' for flute and organ (1955) * Septet for flute, oboe, clarinet and string quartet (1955) * ''Dialogue'' for flute and horn (1956) * Suite for viola alone (1956) * Sonata for violin and piano (1956) * String Quartet No. 1 (1957) * ''3 Sketches'' for viola (1963?) * Sonatina for flute and piano (1965) * Suite for oboe and piano (1965) * Brass Quintet (1969) * String Quartet No. 2 (1969) * Duo for flute and clarinet (1980) * ''Tales from the Desert Winds'' for string quartet (1982) * ''Fantasy'' for clarinet and piano (1983) * ''Foretaste'' for string quartet (1984) * ''Fantasy Dialogues'' for cello and piano (1989)

Piano

* ''Beneath the Sea'' (1953) * ''Sarah's Soliloquy'' (1967) * ''Der Schwyzer Missionar'' (1988?) * ''Visionscape'' (1991)

Choral

* ''The Articles of Faith'' for chorus a cappella (1960) * Music for Oedipus (1968) * ''Three Psalms'' for chorus a cappella (1971) * ''Christ Metaphors'', Festival of Images for chorus and orchestra (1989) * ''The Restoration'', Oratorio for chorus and orchestra (1973)

Vocal

* ''3 Songs on Verses by Samuel Hoffenstein'' (1962) * ''Come Ye Disconsolate'' for soprano and piano (1984)

References

Works cited

From the Merrill Bradshaw archive

* * * *

Books and journal articles

* * * * * * * * * * *

News articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Merrill Bradshaw papers, MSS 7486
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradshaw, Merrill 1929 births 2000 deaths American male composers Brigham Young University alumni University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign School of Music alumni Brigham Young University faculty Latter Day Saints from Illinois American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland 20th-century American composers Latter Day Saints from Oregon Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Wyoming People from Lyman, Wyoming 20th-century American male musicians