Biography
Duckworth was born in North Carolina in 1943. He obtained a bachelor's degree in music from East Carolina University, then master's and doctorates in music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana. He studied composition under composer Ben Johnston and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the notation of composer John Cage. (Duckworth's music publishing and record company, Monroe Street Music, is named after the street in New York City where Cage lived and worked.) In 2002 he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. Over the years Duckworth enjoyed a close collaboration with James Jordan who frequently performs Duckworth's music with his world-renowned choral ensembles. Duckworth passed away at his home in West New York, N.J., after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
Read more about this topic: William Duckworth (composer)
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