William Berry - Composer & Musician
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🔽 detailed biography below |
As a fifth grade student, I auditioned for my school choir and the music teacher said I had a good ear. Ever since, I have been trying to figure out which one she meant. I don't consider myself a trumpet player so much as a musician and creative artist who happens to play the trumpet. I have spent my life performing and creating; teaching instruments, singing, theory, composition, song-writing, and history; planning events and programming concerts; recording, editing, and mixing sound & video and producing CDs. |
I love performing because it's the toughest mental discipline I know. As for composing, I have written almost everything Clarion Brass has performed over the past three decades and composed the music for Moby Dick – A Musical which the crew presented in a run at the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival in February 2020. I have written original music for chorus and orchestra, cabaret music for professionals, fun arrangements of pop tunes for fun-loving musicians in every style imaginable, and maybe just a few other things over the years.
I am an avid cyclist, bake all of my own bread, and have read The New Yorker cover to cover for a couple of decades. In addition to the predictable resume items, I have put together and maintained a commercial website, plus done a bit of visual artwork and video editing. I have been digging into the 780s at the library forever and have been a long-time volunteer for KYRS Community Radio, an alternative, progressive radio station in Spokane. |
William Berry, winner of the 2003 Artist Trust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship for music, is a musician whose career encompasses every aspect of the field. He has found success as a performer, composer, arranger, director, producer, writer, and educator. Berry is a member of ASCAP and his compositions and arrangements have been commissioned and performed by professional ensembles throughout the country. In November of 2023, KSPS-PBS presented and produced Clarion's This Is What Christmas Sounds Like performance, with all of the music written and arranged by Berry, as both live performances and a special one-hour holiday broadcast. His music has been featured on CMTV, Spokane’s Community-Minded Television, and in 2007 KSPS-PBS produced an edition of Northwest Profiles which focused on Berry and his music for Clarion Brass. Watch the KSPS-PBS Clarion holiday special and the Northwest Profiles episode here. ▶ |
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Berry's Moby Dick – A Musical, a musical theater version of Melville's epic 1851 novel, was selected for a run at the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival as part of Chicago Theatre Week in February of 2020. Previously, Moby Dick was produced at Spokane Civic Theatre in April of 2019 with the help of a Spokane Arts Grant Award. His music, set to Ed Bryan's lyrics, brings this tale's legendary characters and human struggle to life, compressed into two hours of powerful impact from the stage. Moby Dick is an iconic and captivating story embedded in our culture; even those who have not read it are familiar with Ahab's obsession, symbolic of our primal conflict against the elements and fate.
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Berry is founder and artistic director of Clarion, the 13-member brass choir, which has been performing since 1992. In 2000, Clarion recorded a popular compact disc entirely comprised of Berry’s Christmas and holiday arrangements, entitled Nutcracker Suite Dreams, and in 2003 released a second recording, Angels, a large-scale work for 2 choruses, brass, percussion, and organ. In 2005, Berry produced a third Clarion disc, A Partridge in a Pear Tree, which was a sequel to NSD. In 2006 he developed a flash animation electronic Christmas card featuring Clarion which attained near-instantaneous world-wide popularity over the internet. 2013 saw the release of another Clarion Brass holiday CD comprised entirely of Berry's arrangements, entitled Reindeer Games. In 2019, Clarion became the first local professional group to perform at the newly constructed Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center on the campus of Gonzaga University.
American Carols, a commission by the Cathedral and the Arts Association for a performance by the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus and the Spokane Youth Orchestra in December of 2003 was also released as a professionally produced CD in 2004. American Carols presents definitive settings of 13 obscure but wonderful songs from the American folk tradition from before 1865.
Berry has been commissioned to create works for a wide variety of ensembles. He assembled two multi-movement works for treble chorus from words written by students for Sargent Schools in Colorado: Dreams and Machines in 2013 and Homeward Bound in 2015. In 2014 he wrote Icarus for Colorado's Meeker High School wind ensemble. Spots for a Striped Cat, a piece in four movements on his original texts was commissioned for women’s vocal trio and completed in 2011. In the Fall of 2011, the Walla Walla Symphony commissioned and premiered a fanfare, fanTAStic!, to celebrate Yaacov Bergman’s 25th season as music director. Moonlight in a Chamber, a work for horn and harp, was written for and premiered in August of 2008 by Jennifer Scriggins Brummett and Leslie Stratton Norris. Chasing the Light was written as a commission for a new orchestral work to celebrate the opening concert of the Walla Walla Symphony‘s Centennial Season in October 2006. Out of the Sky, a commission for carillon, was premiered in the same month, and December 2006 saw the first performances of a commission from the Cathedral and the Arts Association for the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus, the Eastern Washington University Chamber Choir and the Spokane Youth Orchestra. Songs of Peace is a four-movement work for two choruses and full orchestra on texts written by the young musicians in a symposium and assembled by Berry for the project.
Cycling Music, a concerto for trumpet with brass, commissioned by the Eastern Washington University Music Department and funded by an Enabling Creativity Grant, was premiered in March of 2004 by world-famous trumpeter Allen Vizzutti accompanied by Clarion Brass as the culmination of a two day symposium called Brassology. The Oregon East Symphony subsequently commissioned a new version of Cycling Music for trumpet soloist with orchestra, and the resulting work was premiered in October of 2009 with James Smock as soloist.
A commission from Mozart on a Summer’s Eve for a new woodwind nonet, Manito Sketches, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Manito Park in Spokane was premiered at that pair of concerts in July of 2004. In 2005 he completed scoring a musical theater work, Return of the Great Round, on texts by Eleanor Limmer, and was commissioned by the Spokane British Brass Band for a new work commemorating their tenth anniversary, called Spokane’s River, which was premiered in October 2005.
Berry was also the instigator and music director of an experimental group, String Jam, an electric string orchestra which erased musical boundaries by combining swing, rock, blues, jazz, fiddling, and other popular styles with dazzling virtuosity. String Jam gave a variety of performances from 1998 to 2003. From 2000 to 2017, he arranged all of the show music for Ferris High School’s amazingly successful annual fund-raiser, Ham on Regal.
In the past several years, Berry‘s compositions and arrangements have reached an increasingly wide audience. In addition to writing for his own groups, schools and chamber ensembles ranging from amateur to professional, his music has been recently commissioned and performed by many quality organizations.
Commissioning organizations include:
⦁ Canadian Brass
⦁ Westminster Chamber Orchestra
⦁ Royal Fireworks Festival
⦁ Walla Walla Symphony
⦁ Spokane Symphony
⦁ Portland Chamber Orchestra
⦁ Oregon East Symphony
⦁ Waterbury [Connecticut] Symphony Orchestra
⦁ Iowa Brass (formerly Eastern Iowa Brass Band)
⦁ Enabling Creativity Grant from Wendal and Virginia Jones
⦁ Mozart on a Summer’s Eve/Connoisseur Concerts
⦁ Tim Behrens of Patrick McManus Comedies
⦁ Ex Lingua Mortem
⦁ Modern Brass Quintet of New York
⦁ Puget Brass Sound British Brass Band
⦁ Brass Band Northwest
⦁ Spokane British Brass Band
⦁ The Cathedral and the Arts Association
⦁ Archdiocese of Spokane for the Year 2000 Jubilee Mass
⦁ Music at Lourdes
⦁ Air Force Band of the Northwest
⦁ Gonzaga University Wind Ensemble
⦁ Eastern Washington University
⦁ Spokane Valley Summer Theatre
Performances have been given by all of the commissioning organizations; additionally, there have been performances by many ensembles, including the following:
⦁ Dallas Symphony
⦁ New York Philharmonic [with the Canadian Brass]
⦁ Philadelphia Orchestra [with the Canadian Brass]
⦁ Los Angeles Philharmonic
⦁ Seattle Symphony
⦁ Vancouver Brass Orchestra [B.C.]
⦁ Fresno Philharmonic
⦁ Baton Rouge Symphony
⦁ Virginia Symphony
⦁ Walla Walla Symphony
⦁ Maryland Symphony Orchestra
⦁ Boise Philharmonic
⦁ Orchestra Iowa
⦁ Allen Vizzutti with Clarion Brass
⦁ Zephyr Brass Choir; Atlanta
⦁ Altius Brass; Calgary
⦁ Bay Brass; San Francisco
⦁ Indianapolis Chamber Brass
⦁ Whitworth College Wind Ensemble
⦁ Heritage of America Band at Langley Air Force Base [performance and recording]
⦁ The Florida Orchestra
American Carols, a commission by the Cathedral and the Arts Association for a performance by the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus and the Spokane Youth Orchestra in December of 2003 was also released as a professionally produced CD in 2004. American Carols presents definitive settings of 13 obscure but wonderful songs from the American folk tradition from before 1865.
Berry has been commissioned to create works for a wide variety of ensembles. He assembled two multi-movement works for treble chorus from words written by students for Sargent Schools in Colorado: Dreams and Machines in 2013 and Homeward Bound in 2015. In 2014 he wrote Icarus for Colorado's Meeker High School wind ensemble. Spots for a Striped Cat, a piece in four movements on his original texts was commissioned for women’s vocal trio and completed in 2011. In the Fall of 2011, the Walla Walla Symphony commissioned and premiered a fanfare, fanTAStic!, to celebrate Yaacov Bergman’s 25th season as music director. Moonlight in a Chamber, a work for horn and harp, was written for and premiered in August of 2008 by Jennifer Scriggins Brummett and Leslie Stratton Norris. Chasing the Light was written as a commission for a new orchestral work to celebrate the opening concert of the Walla Walla Symphony‘s Centennial Season in October 2006. Out of the Sky, a commission for carillon, was premiered in the same month, and December 2006 saw the first performances of a commission from the Cathedral and the Arts Association for the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus, the Eastern Washington University Chamber Choir and the Spokane Youth Orchestra. Songs of Peace is a four-movement work for two choruses and full orchestra on texts written by the young musicians in a symposium and assembled by Berry for the project.
Cycling Music, a concerto for trumpet with brass, commissioned by the Eastern Washington University Music Department and funded by an Enabling Creativity Grant, was premiered in March of 2004 by world-famous trumpeter Allen Vizzutti accompanied by Clarion Brass as the culmination of a two day symposium called Brassology. The Oregon East Symphony subsequently commissioned a new version of Cycling Music for trumpet soloist with orchestra, and the resulting work was premiered in October of 2009 with James Smock as soloist.
A commission from Mozart on a Summer’s Eve for a new woodwind nonet, Manito Sketches, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Manito Park in Spokane was premiered at that pair of concerts in July of 2004. In 2005 he completed scoring a musical theater work, Return of the Great Round, on texts by Eleanor Limmer, and was commissioned by the Spokane British Brass Band for a new work commemorating their tenth anniversary, called Spokane’s River, which was premiered in October 2005.
Berry was also the instigator and music director of an experimental group, String Jam, an electric string orchestra which erased musical boundaries by combining swing, rock, blues, jazz, fiddling, and other popular styles with dazzling virtuosity. String Jam gave a variety of performances from 1998 to 2003. From 2000 to 2017, he arranged all of the show music for Ferris High School’s amazingly successful annual fund-raiser, Ham on Regal.
In the past several years, Berry‘s compositions and arrangements have reached an increasingly wide audience. In addition to writing for his own groups, schools and chamber ensembles ranging from amateur to professional, his music has been recently commissioned and performed by many quality organizations.
Commissioning organizations include:
⦁ Canadian Brass
⦁ Westminster Chamber Orchestra
⦁ Royal Fireworks Festival
⦁ Walla Walla Symphony
⦁ Spokane Symphony
⦁ Portland Chamber Orchestra
⦁ Oregon East Symphony
⦁ Waterbury [Connecticut] Symphony Orchestra
⦁ Iowa Brass (formerly Eastern Iowa Brass Band)
⦁ Enabling Creativity Grant from Wendal and Virginia Jones
⦁ Mozart on a Summer’s Eve/Connoisseur Concerts
⦁ Tim Behrens of Patrick McManus Comedies
⦁ Ex Lingua Mortem
⦁ Modern Brass Quintet of New York
⦁ Puget Brass Sound British Brass Band
⦁ Brass Band Northwest
⦁ Spokane British Brass Band
⦁ The Cathedral and the Arts Association
⦁ Archdiocese of Spokane for the Year 2000 Jubilee Mass
⦁ Music at Lourdes
⦁ Air Force Band of the Northwest
⦁ Gonzaga University Wind Ensemble
⦁ Eastern Washington University
⦁ Spokane Valley Summer Theatre
Performances have been given by all of the commissioning organizations; additionally, there have been performances by many ensembles, including the following:
⦁ Dallas Symphony
⦁ New York Philharmonic [with the Canadian Brass]
⦁ Philadelphia Orchestra [with the Canadian Brass]
⦁ Los Angeles Philharmonic
⦁ Seattle Symphony
⦁ Vancouver Brass Orchestra [B.C.]
⦁ Fresno Philharmonic
⦁ Baton Rouge Symphony
⦁ Virginia Symphony
⦁ Walla Walla Symphony
⦁ Maryland Symphony Orchestra
⦁ Boise Philharmonic
⦁ Orchestra Iowa
⦁ Allen Vizzutti with Clarion Brass
⦁ Zephyr Brass Choir; Atlanta
⦁ Altius Brass; Calgary
⦁ Bay Brass; San Francisco
⦁ Indianapolis Chamber Brass
⦁ Whitworth College Wind Ensemble
⦁ Heritage of America Band at Langley Air Force Base [performance and recording]
⦁ The Florida Orchestra
Berry has been principal trumpet for the Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra since 1997 and from 1988 to 2012 was a member of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. He has been the first-call trumpet player with the Spokane Civic Theatre since 2007. He has appeared as a soloist with the Spokane Symphony, the Walla Walla Symphony, the Northwest Bach Festival, Rendezvous Music Festival, the Mid-Columbia Symphony, Gonzaga University’s Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus on their 1998 British Isles Tour, and at the 1995 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the world’s largest traditional jazz festival. Berry has performed regularly with Spokane’s local groups ranging from Allegro, a baroque and classical period music group, to Zephyr, an ensemble specializing in 20th century chamber music.
Berry regularly appeared as a soloist with the Air National Guard Band of the Northwest as a member from 1993 to 2006, including local performances as well as national and international tours. For six years he served as the leader of that unit’s Dixieland Band, and finished his service as Assistant Conductor for the Band of the Northwest’s Concert Band and leader of the Brass Quintet. As a member of the Seattle-based Emerald City Brass Quintet from 1983 to 1991, he performed on numerous concert series, television and radio broadcasts, and other venues from Alaska to Montana, including regular guest appearances at the Olympic Music Festival, and as finalist in the Concert Artist Guild Competition in New York. From 1975 to 1978, Berry was a member of the First U.S. Army Band, stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, which gave hundreds of performances per year up and down the East Coast.
From 1992 to 2005, Berry wrote about music, reviewing classical and popular music and other performances for the Spokane Spokesman-Review. He has also served as a guest lecturer for Spokane area colleges and universities, given pre-concert talks for the Spokane Symphony, and has provided program notes for the Festival at Sandpoint.
From 2006 to 2013, Berry was adjunct faculty member at Whitman College and Walla Walla University, where he taught trumpet and chamber music. Since 2004 he has been brass chamber coach and trumpet instructor at the Midsummer Musical Retreat, the nation’s most comprehensive camp for adult amateur musicians. He also teaches trumpet privately and has coached the brass, wind, and string sections of various high school and college ensembles, including the Spokane Youth Symphony and weekly sessions with the Lewis & Clark High School trumpets from 1997 to 2012. Berry has authored and performed in many educational programs, including the Shoestring 4-tet program for the Spokane Symphony. He was commissioned to create The SymFunny Paper, a music education newspaper for fifth-graders, and from 1996 to 2000 compiled and wrote these education materials. During the same time period, Berry coordinated the SSO’s Musical Fun Fair, creating original hands-on activities for children. In the final year before the SSO discontinued these educational programs, his efforts helped win the Gold Award for the Spokane Symphony Associates from the National Association of Symphony Volunteers. He has also coordinated the educational programs for the Northwest Bach Festival.
Berry received his Bachelor of Music Performance in Trumpet in 1982 from Indiana University, where he studied with Louis Davidson, Allan Dean and Charles Gorham.
From 1992 to 2005, Berry wrote about music, reviewing classical and popular music and other performances for the Spokane Spokesman-Review. He has also served as a guest lecturer for Spokane area colleges and universities, given pre-concert talks for the Spokane Symphony, and has provided program notes for the Festival at Sandpoint.
From 2006 to 2013, Berry was adjunct faculty member at Whitman College and Walla Walla University, where he taught trumpet and chamber music. Since 2004 he has been brass chamber coach and trumpet instructor at the Midsummer Musical Retreat, the nation’s most comprehensive camp for adult amateur musicians. He also teaches trumpet privately and has coached the brass, wind, and string sections of various high school and college ensembles, including the Spokane Youth Symphony and weekly sessions with the Lewis & Clark High School trumpets from 1997 to 2012. Berry has authored and performed in many educational programs, including the Shoestring 4-tet program for the Spokane Symphony. He was commissioned to create The SymFunny Paper, a music education newspaper for fifth-graders, and from 1996 to 2000 compiled and wrote these education materials. During the same time period, Berry coordinated the SSO’s Musical Fun Fair, creating original hands-on activities for children. In the final year before the SSO discontinued these educational programs, his efforts helped win the Gold Award for the Spokane Symphony Associates from the National Association of Symphony Volunteers. He has also coordinated the educational programs for the Northwest Bach Festival.
Berry received his Bachelor of Music Performance in Trumpet in 1982 from Indiana University, where he studied with Louis Davidson, Allan Dean and Charles Gorham.
If anything, Reindeer Games, from the much bigger Clarion Brass Choir is even more interesting
(than the Canadian Brass' Christmas Time Is Here, 2013), largely due to the imagination
of founder/arranger/trumpet gang member William Berry.
He describes what they do as "Clarionizing" tunes we all know and love,
and it is simply one grin after another for listeners.
Dr. Christmas (Dr. Gerry Grzyb on WRST-FM), 2013
Trumpet soloist William Berry . . . gave Telemann's work [Concerto in D] a delightful sparkle. The lament "Ach, es bleibt in meiner Liebe" from Cantata No. 77 has an unusually soft and lyrical trumpet line played with subtle warmth by Berry and matched by
[mezzo-soprano Katherine] Growdon.
Travis Rivers
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2011
“Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, Clarion is dead serious about its music.
Over almost two decades, this 12-piece brass ensemble has established itself
as one of the region’s most refreshing classical ensembles,
known nationwide for its brilliant arrangements.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2009
About Clarion:
Spokane gives them a small, devoted following
that should be a big, devoted following.
Michael Bowen
The Pacific Northwest Inlander, 2009
About Moonlight in a Chamber:
“This charming work is a nice contribution to an under-represented
genre, horn with harp. I found this piece very satisfying
and recommend it to anyone who knows a good harpist. “
Jeffrey Snedecker
The Horn Call, October 2009
About A Partridge in a Pear Tree:
“This is a superb disc to be enjoyed by all,
especially during the Christmas holiday.”
John Dressler
The Horn Call, October 2006
"We have done some of your Christmas arrangements for brass and I just wondered if you have any more.
My players love playing them, the audience loves hearing them . . .
they're just really extraordinary!"
Timothy Muffit, Music Director
Baton Rouge Symphony, 2006
“It was the kind of foggy day that caused Santa to call on the services of Rudolph.
But even that reindeer‘s nose could not have outshone the brightness of
Clarion Brass‘s Candlelight Christmas Concert
at St. John‘s Cathedral on Sunday afternoon.
Just when many of us have reached the Scroogelike point in the season
where we would not like to hear another Christmas carol,
composer-arranger William Berry produced a program of Christmas music
that made us old grouches know how wrong we are.
Berry put together a selection of new Christmas compositions
and new arrangements of old songs (some of them very old)
that showed the vitality, tenderness and humor of Christmas music.
. . . Berry ’s arrangements sport a catchy, often quirky, rhythmic gait,
textures that make the best of the richness of a mixed brass ensemble,
and harmonies that give the tune just enough of a twist to
make even the hardened listener smile.”
Travis Rivers
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2003
“William Berry . . . and assembled musical forces have created a sweeping
36-minute, seven-movement piece evoking the mystery and grandeur
of “angelos” (Greek for messengers), through an original non-religious text
also written by Berry. ‘Angels’ is a CD that every local classical music fan -
or, more important, those who aren’t yet - should own.”
Gary Laing
Local Planet, 2003
About Nutcracker Suite Dreams:
“Over the years, I’ve heard quite a few collections like this -
Christmas music in original arrangements for brass -
including some by top groups like London Brass.
This is the first one that I thoroughly enjoyed and can heartily recommend.”
American Record Guide - Kilpatrick
November/December 2002
“William Berry arranged two Bernstein songs and the Gershwins’ wonderful
‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ for the occasion.
The arrangements and the performances were a pure delight.
Next to them, the Morton Gould arrangements of classics ‘Star Dust’ and ‘Stormy Weather’ seemed to come from another, rather alien, era like music for slurping champagne and watching televised soap commercials.”
[Westminster Chamber Orchestra; Heather Peterson, mezzo-soprano]
Ann Le Bar
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2002
“I’m happily familiar with Clarion’s Christmas CD, ‘Nutcracker Suite Dreams,’ but I had never seen this 13-member ensemble perform live. I was prepared to be wowed by music director William Berry’s arrangements and by the level of the performing talent, and I was. . .
Still, the highlights for me were Clarion’s versions of classic Christmas carols, including their own version of ‘Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day ’ (the ‘loud version,’ Berry joked).
Berry wrote eight new arrangements for this concert,
including the stunning finale piece, ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’
This familiar carol begins low and ominously, and then breaks out into sharp, surprising fanfares, with snatches of the familiar tune breaking through occasionally. The piece builds dramatically to a joyous and cathartic statement of the melody,
as if played by the hosts of Jericho.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2001
“Here’s one enthusiastic vote in favor of electrified orchestras, energized dancers and the sparks generated between the two. . . It was a whirl of motion and music - and what music. William Berry founded String Jam and wrote or arranged all of the music on the program except for two prerecorded pieces. . . The music was helped by the visual whirlwind on stage; the dance was energized by this outstanding new music. . . This is one experiment that worked.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2000
“’Nutcracker Suite Dreams’ and ‘Festival of Lights - A Collection for Chanukah’ show Berry as arranger and the talented Clarion musicians all at their best - virtuosic, musically fascinating and wildly fun.”
Ann Le Bar
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2000
“The musical highlight of the show (Spokane Symphony Holiday Pops program) was an unusual arrangement of “Pat-a-Pan,” which sounded as if it could have come directly from a holiday feast in the court of Henry the Eighth. This outstanding arrangement was done by the symphony’s own William Berry, a trumpeter.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 1996
“Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto is a personal favorite. I was thrilled to hear it played so well - and live - with the artistry of trumpet soloist William Berry.”
Anne L. Charnley
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 1994
“Clarion boasts excellent soloists and, in its organizer and director William Berry,
a fine arranger too.”
Travis Rivers
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 1994
(than the Canadian Brass' Christmas Time Is Here, 2013), largely due to the imagination
of founder/arranger/trumpet gang member William Berry.
He describes what they do as "Clarionizing" tunes we all know and love,
and it is simply one grin after another for listeners.
Dr. Christmas (Dr. Gerry Grzyb on WRST-FM), 2013
Trumpet soloist William Berry . . . gave Telemann's work [Concerto in D] a delightful sparkle. The lament "Ach, es bleibt in meiner Liebe" from Cantata No. 77 has an unusually soft and lyrical trumpet line played with subtle warmth by Berry and matched by
[mezzo-soprano Katherine] Growdon.
Travis Rivers
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2011
“Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, Clarion is dead serious about its music.
Over almost two decades, this 12-piece brass ensemble has established itself
as one of the region’s most refreshing classical ensembles,
known nationwide for its brilliant arrangements.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2009
About Clarion:
Spokane gives them a small, devoted following
that should be a big, devoted following.
Michael Bowen
The Pacific Northwest Inlander, 2009
About Moonlight in a Chamber:
“This charming work is a nice contribution to an under-represented
genre, horn with harp. I found this piece very satisfying
and recommend it to anyone who knows a good harpist. “
Jeffrey Snedecker
The Horn Call, October 2009
About A Partridge in a Pear Tree:
“This is a superb disc to be enjoyed by all,
especially during the Christmas holiday.”
John Dressler
The Horn Call, October 2006
"We have done some of your Christmas arrangements for brass and I just wondered if you have any more.
My players love playing them, the audience loves hearing them . . .
they're just really extraordinary!"
Timothy Muffit, Music Director
Baton Rouge Symphony, 2006
“It was the kind of foggy day that caused Santa to call on the services of Rudolph.
But even that reindeer‘s nose could not have outshone the brightness of
Clarion Brass‘s Candlelight Christmas Concert
at St. John‘s Cathedral on Sunday afternoon.
Just when many of us have reached the Scroogelike point in the season
where we would not like to hear another Christmas carol,
composer-arranger William Berry produced a program of Christmas music
that made us old grouches know how wrong we are.
Berry put together a selection of new Christmas compositions
and new arrangements of old songs (some of them very old)
that showed the vitality, tenderness and humor of Christmas music.
. . . Berry ’s arrangements sport a catchy, often quirky, rhythmic gait,
textures that make the best of the richness of a mixed brass ensemble,
and harmonies that give the tune just enough of a twist to
make even the hardened listener smile.”
Travis Rivers
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2003
“William Berry . . . and assembled musical forces have created a sweeping
36-minute, seven-movement piece evoking the mystery and grandeur
of “angelos” (Greek for messengers), through an original non-religious text
also written by Berry. ‘Angels’ is a CD that every local classical music fan -
or, more important, those who aren’t yet - should own.”
Gary Laing
Local Planet, 2003
About Nutcracker Suite Dreams:
“Over the years, I’ve heard quite a few collections like this -
Christmas music in original arrangements for brass -
including some by top groups like London Brass.
This is the first one that I thoroughly enjoyed and can heartily recommend.”
American Record Guide - Kilpatrick
November/December 2002
“William Berry arranged two Bernstein songs and the Gershwins’ wonderful
‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ for the occasion.
The arrangements and the performances were a pure delight.
Next to them, the Morton Gould arrangements of classics ‘Star Dust’ and ‘Stormy Weather’ seemed to come from another, rather alien, era like music for slurping champagne and watching televised soap commercials.”
[Westminster Chamber Orchestra; Heather Peterson, mezzo-soprano]
Ann Le Bar
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2002
“I’m happily familiar with Clarion’s Christmas CD, ‘Nutcracker Suite Dreams,’ but I had never seen this 13-member ensemble perform live. I was prepared to be wowed by music director William Berry’s arrangements and by the level of the performing talent, and I was. . .
Still, the highlights for me were Clarion’s versions of classic Christmas carols, including their own version of ‘Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day ’ (the ‘loud version,’ Berry joked).
Berry wrote eight new arrangements for this concert,
including the stunning finale piece, ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’
This familiar carol begins low and ominously, and then breaks out into sharp, surprising fanfares, with snatches of the familiar tune breaking through occasionally. The piece builds dramatically to a joyous and cathartic statement of the melody,
as if played by the hosts of Jericho.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2001
“Here’s one enthusiastic vote in favor of electrified orchestras, energized dancers and the sparks generated between the two. . . It was a whirl of motion and music - and what music. William Berry founded String Jam and wrote or arranged all of the music on the program except for two prerecorded pieces. . . The music was helped by the visual whirlwind on stage; the dance was energized by this outstanding new music. . . This is one experiment that worked.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2000
“’Nutcracker Suite Dreams’ and ‘Festival of Lights - A Collection for Chanukah’ show Berry as arranger and the talented Clarion musicians all at their best - virtuosic, musically fascinating and wildly fun.”
Ann Le Bar
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 2000
“The musical highlight of the show (Spokane Symphony Holiday Pops program) was an unusual arrangement of “Pat-a-Pan,” which sounded as if it could have come directly from a holiday feast in the court of Henry the Eighth. This outstanding arrangement was done by the symphony’s own William Berry, a trumpeter.”
Jim Kershner
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 1996
“Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto is a personal favorite. I was thrilled to hear it played so well - and live - with the artistry of trumpet soloist William Berry.”
Anne L. Charnley
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 1994
“Clarion boasts excellent soloists and, in its organizer and director William Berry,
a fine arranger too.”
Travis Rivers
Spokane Spokesman-Review, 1994