The Cleveland Composers Guild

Guild Members

A photo of William F. Rayer

William F. Rayer

http://stores.lulu.com/wrayer

wfrayer@roadrunner.com

William F. Rayer is a retired music teacher having taught music for 30 years in the Mayfield School System. His undergraduate degree is a B.A. in Music Education from Kent State University. He has a Master of Arts degree in Music Composition from Cleveland State University where he studied music composition from Bain Murray and Rudy Bubalo. He was a member of the Cleveland Composer's Guild From 1974 to 1980 but became inactive to raise a family. He re-activated his membership to the Cleveland Composer's Guild in June of 2008. He has writen many compositions which have been played by area orchestras and bands including the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Lakeland Civic Band, Lakeland Civic Orchestra as well as many local high schools and junior high schools.  In the spring of 2007 the Lakeland Civic Orchestra premiered his work "Pluto, Requiem For A Dead Planet" which was inspired by a Newsweek article of the same name. He performs regular as the principle trumpet of the Lorain Community Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Robert Beckstrom. In the past he has performed with the Lakeland Jazz Band, Lakeland Concert Band, and the Lakeland Civic Orchestra. He performs solo and duo acts of popular music at area nursing homes and plays in the Broadale Brass Sextet led by John Simna. He has completed a novel with an accompanying compact disc of original music written by him for the novel called The Reach Beyond Tomorrow which is currently in the hands of the Two Harbors Publishing Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are four movements which correlate to different parts of the book. Movement I, Impending Doom portrays the vista of a world in the process of discovering their sun is going to explode. Movement II, The Journey reflects the flight of the survivor ship through the universe. Movement III, Pastorale relates to the quiet and explorative.

Catalog of Works by William F. Rayer

Chamber Ensemble

  • Ode to Some Yellow Flowers - 2009 (Duration: 2' 36)
    • Premiered in 2009 by Lorain Community College - Janine Porter.

    • Written For LCCC as part of a commemorative Latin America Assembly. The piece is written using the lyrics of a poem by Pablo Neruda.

  • I Request Silence - 2009
    • Premiered in 2009 by Lorain Community College.

    • Written For LCCC as part of a commemorative Latin America Assembly. The piece is written using the lyrics of a poem by Pablo Neruda.

  • Night Moods - 2009 (Duration: 7' 30)
    • Premiered in 2009 by Cleveland Chamber Collective.

    • The piece was written for the Cleveland Chamber Collective's Dec. 7th program featuring past and present composers of the Cleveland Composers Guild.

  • For Loss of Trees - 2009 (Duration: 12' 10")
    • Premiered in 2009 by Coren Min0, Ron Palko.

    • This is a two piano work inspired by the tremendous loss of the rain forests of the world.

  • Dance Suite for Flute Trio - 2009 (Duration: 8' 20")
    • Publisher: BRS Music, Inc

    • This is a technically challenging trio rated at a grade 6.

Orchestral

  • The Timeless Moon - 1978 (Duration: 8 Minutes)
    • Premiered in 1978 by Ohio Chamber Orchestra.
  • The Reach Beyond Tomorrow - 2008 (Duration: 20 minutes)
    • Premiered in 2009 by Lorain Civic Orchestra - Robert Beckstrom, conductor.

    • The piece was concieved over 4 years and is mood music for the book of the same title written by William F. Rayer.

  • Pluto, Requiem for a Dead Planet - 2007 (Duration: 5' 30)
    • Premiered in 2007 by Lakeland Civic Orchestra.

Solo Instrument

  • Trumpet Solos: Volume I - 2006 (Duration: n/a)
    • Publisher: Lulu

    • The example is the first solo in the volume called Elegy for Trumpet dedicated to Harry Herforth, the renowned Cleveland trumpet teacher and mentor. Harry was and is my teacher and mentor. The piece is performed by Kathryn Harsha on piano and myself on trumpet.