William Elden Bolcom is an American classical composer and pianist born on May
26, 1938, in Seattle. Bolcom began musical studies at age 11 and later trained
with Darius Milhaud, Leland Smith, and Olivier Messiaen. In 1973, Bolcom joined
the faculty at the University of Michigan, where he taught composition until
2008. Bolcom married mezzo-soprano Joan Morris in 1975, subsequently recording
albums including After the Ball. In 1988, Bolcom received the Pulitzer Prize for
Music for the work Twelve New Etudes for Piano. His compositions include the
operas McTeague (1992) and A View ...