Marshall Onofrio

OF A LIFE Don Williams retired from the Marshall University Department of Music in 2002. In the spring of that year, the combined composition studios compiled a Festschrift in his honor. Several faculty and students composed original works for clarinet, our celebration of his work on our behalf and his ongoing support for new music. At that time, unable to finish the work I had sketched for him, I decided to augment the work and plan for a later gift and premiere. Of a Life is a tribute to the relationships and influences one has in a long and fruitful musical life. Each movement adds a player, and each describes a relationship between Dr. Williams and the new participant. Don was chair of the department when Ed Bingham was hired. Don and Ann Marie have worked alongside each other in musical ensembles too numerous to list. She taught for Don during his 1995 sabbatical. Mark earned his first Masters degree under Don's direction, and has since returned to complete a teacher certification program. Angela, a 2001 graduate, was the last clarinet performance major to complete the program under Don's supervision. Emily is one of the last students taught by Don. The harmonic language for the work reflects Don's eclectic performing experiences, from jazz to chamber to tonal to mildly experimental. At the outset, I decided to add players for each movement, rather than substitute. The cumulative effect mirrors the numerous "tentacles" a person sends out into the world. The work is dedicated to Don, with thanks and congratulations.

Marshall Onofrio is Professor of Music and department chair at Marshall University. He received the doctorate in composition from the Ohio State University, and holds degrees from the Universities of Nebraska, Illinois, and Connecticut, in composition, trumpet, and music education, respectively.

Onofrio's compositions have been heard in several midwestern and northeastern states. In April 2003, the combined Marshall University choirs and a festival orchestra presented the premiere performance of his Requiem Mass. Last summer, he completed several arrangements for Bluetrane, the MU faculty jazz ensemble, many of which were heard at the inaugural Snowshoe Institute jazz concert on August 1, 2002. Portraits was commissioned and premiered in April, 2001, and was featured at the 2001 International Double Reed Society convention and at Thomas Stacy's English horn workshop. Celebration Symphony was commissioned by and given its premiere performance by the Plattsburgh Community Orchestra in September 2000. In the fall of 2000, Onofrio's I'd Love to Dance was included on a CD-ROM produced by the Marshall University College of Fine Arts as part of a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. At the dedication of the Jomie Jazz Center on April 14, 2000, the MU Jazz Ensemble performed his arrangement of This Could Be the Start of Something Big.

Additional works have been commissioned and performed by the Cantari Singers, the Gregg Smith Singers, the North Country Ballet and the Adirondack Youth Orchestra, among others, and have been included on regional programs of the Society of Composers, Inc. Selected compositions are published by Margun Music, Inc