Merrill Bradshaw

Merrill Bradshaw (June 18, 1929 – July 12, 2000) was an American composer and professor at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he was composer-in-residence from 1967 to 1994.

Bradshaw grew up in Lyman, Wyoming; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Portland, Oregon.

He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (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.

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

While in Lyman, Bradshaw traveled 120 mi on Saturdays to study piano with Frank Asper.

Bradshaw started undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1947, where he was mentored by John R. Halliday.

He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Switzerland from 1948–1951.

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.

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 and Crawford Gates 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 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.

He also studied with Gordon Binkerd, Robert Kelly, Robert Moffat Palmer, and Burrill Phillips.

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

He became a faculty member at BYU in 1957.

He joined the faculty at BYU in 1957.

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 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 could encompass many styles.

Bradshaw was BYU's first composer-in-residence from 1967 to 1994.

He received the Karl G. Maeser Research and Creativity Award in 1967, and was a Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 1981.

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 was chairman of composition and theory from 1973 to 1983, and the executive director of the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A different committee authored the 1985 hymnal.

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.