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= William Gibson (trombonist) =



William McHargue Gibson (November 30, 1916 - October 25, 2002) was an American musician and principal trombone of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1955 to 1975.

Life and career
At the beginning of the 1955-1956 concert season, he was appointed principal trombone of the Boston Symphony by music director Charles Munch, then in the midst of a series of landmark recordings of the French musical repertory. Mr. Gibson also participated in two major international BSO tours led by Munch: of Europe and the Soviet Union in 1956 and of Japan and the Far East in 1960.

Mr. Gibson was a founding member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players (1963-1975). He was skilled on many instruments and, in addition to the trombone, performed bass trumpet (Wagner, Stravinsky) and baritone horn solos (Mahler Symphony No. 7) with the BSO. He also demonstrated and lectured on rare and ancient instruments such as the alpine horn and the serpent.

Following retirement from the orchestra in 1977, he was principal trombone of the Opera Company of Boston and Opera New England, both led by noted opera conductor, Sarah Caldwell.

Mr. Gibson was also a noted educator and was professor of trombone at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and was professor of trombone at the New England Conservatory of Music and at the Tanglewood Music Center. His students have played in orchestras throughout the world. His students include Eugene Watts, trombone, Canadian Brass, and Per Brevig, principal trombone, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Milton Stevens, principal trombone, National Symphony, and Raymond Turner, principal trombone, Detroit Symphony.

Early Career Mr. Gibson’s musical career began the year he graduated from Curtis Institute in 1939, when he became principal trombone of the National Symphony in Washington, D. C. He subsequently became second trombone of the Philadelphia Orchestra, playing under Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini; principal trombone of the Indianapolis Symphony; and principal trombone of the New York City Symphony, Leonard Bernstein, conductor, as well as the NBC Symphony under Toscanini. In 1946, he became principal trombone of the Pittsburgh Symphony, where he played under conductors Fritz Reiner, Vladimir Bakaleinikoff and William Steinberg. Mr. Bakaleinikoff dedicated his composition “Meditation” for trombone or baritone horn solo and orchestra to Mr. Gibson.

Career after BSO retirement Eager to promote the careers of young musicians and to further the reach of classical music, in 1976, he founded both the Needham Concert Society (Needham, MA) and the West Stockbridge Concert Society (West Stockbridge, MA). These two organizations have put on hundreds of concerts, giving both young and established musicians opportunities to bring great music to community audiences.

Early Life Born in Marlow, Oklahoma November 30, 1916, the third of six musically and artistically gifted children of Baptist minister Rev. Dr. O. L. Gibson, he grew up in Arkansas and Oklahoma. He attended Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in Stillwater, the University of Michigan and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he earned an Artist's Diploma.

Musical Family Mr. Gibson's two brothers were noted musicians: Dr. O. Lee Gibson, Jr., professor of clarinet, University of North Texas, Hugh Dana Gibson of Taos N. M., a painter and formerly a violist with the Houston Symphony and an alumnus of Tanglewood. In addition: nephew Laurence Gibson, professor of music at University of Texas at El Paso and concertmaster of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra; niece Marion Gibson, principal oboe (retired) of the Louisville Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival, and nephew David Gibson, professor of bassoon at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Musical editions
Mr. Gibson edited and annotated much music in the trombone repertoire, including the Trombone Concerto by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff and other editions for International Music Co.

Recordings
Mr. Gibson’s work with the BSO is preserved on many legendary recordings under Charles Munch, including two recordings (1956 and 1962) of Maurice Ravel's "Bolero,", Erich Leinsdorf, (Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 3), William Steinberg, (Gustav Holst's "The Planets," Seiji Ozawa (Ravel "Bolero"), Pierre Monteux and others. His work was also recorded with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra. He also recorded with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players (Stravinsky l'Histoire du Soldat)and the New England Brass Ensemble with E. Power Biggs, organist.