W. Francis McBeth
William Francis McBeth ( born March 9, 1933, Lubbock, Texas; † January 6, 2012 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas) was an American composer and conductor.
Life and work
McBeth completed his studies at Hardin - Simmons University, the University of Texas and at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York. His teachers include Howard Hanson, James Clifton Williams and Bernard Rogers. From 1957 he worked at the Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas. He was also conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Little Rock. In 1963 he received the Howard Hanson Prize for his Third Symphony. As a guest conductor he conducted orchestras in Germany, France, Italy, England, Scotland, Iceland, Canada and Japan.