Allan Willman
| Allan Arthur Willman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Allan Arthur Simpkins May 11, 1909 Hinckley, Illinois |
| Died | May 7, 1987 (aged 77) Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Resting place | Lakeview Cemetery, Cheyenne |
| Residence | Laramie, Wyoming |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Allan Arthur Simpkins (birth name) Alan Samar (pseudonym) |
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupation | Classical pianist, composer, professor |
| Years active | 1926–1989 |
| Employer | University of Wyoming |
| Organization | Fellow, MacDowell Colony (Summer 1940) |
| Notable work | "Solitude", symphonic poem, for orchestra |
| Style | Early 20th Century contemporary classical |
| Home town | Abingdon, Illinois |
| Partner(s) | Regina Kastberg Hansen (1914–1965) |
| Parent(s) | Arthur Burton Simpkins (1872–1937) Lulu (née Louis Catherine Willman; 1872–1961) |
| Awards | 1934 Paderewski Prize for Symphonic Work by an American-born composer |
Allan Arthur Willman (variant spellings Alan & Wilman; né Allan Arthur Simpkins; 11 May 1909 Hinckley, Illinois 7 May 1989 Cheyenne, Wyoming) was an American classical pianist, composer, music pedagog at the collegiate level, and longtime chairman of the Department of Music at the University of Wyoming. Willman was a vanguard creator and influential exponent of twentieth-century contemporary music. As chairman of the music department at the University of Wyoming, he is credited with rapidly expanding music arts within the institution. He led the development of a more comprehensive Music Department for aspiring academicians and professionals in performance, composition, education, and musicology. Between 1940 and 1950, enrollment in the Music Department quadrupled. Willman was founder of the Wyoming Music Teachers Association; and—with Wyoming businessman and composer George William Hufsmith, Jr. (1924–2002), and Casper conductor Ernest Gilbert Hagen (1913–2000)—Willman was co-founder of the Grand Teton Music Festival in 1962.
Born in Hinckley, Illinois, Willman grew-up in Abingdon.
Willman earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Knox College Conservatory of Music in 1928 (age 19) under his original name, Allan Arthur Simpkins. He went on to earn a Master of Music degree from Chicago Musical College in 1930, where he studied with Maurice Aronson (1869–1946), Alexander Raab, and Lillian Powers (1886–1973), who was an associate teacher with Raab and a former pupil of Theodor Leschetizky and Giuseppe Ferrata (1865–1928), who in turn was a certified pupil of Franz Liszt. Willman then studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and Thomas de Hartmann. Willman had been recommended to Boulanger by Paderewski. After World War II, while serving as Chairman of the Department of Music at Wyoming, Willman took leave during the 1947–48 school year to study in Lausanne and Paris—Robert R. Becker (1909–1997), a virtuoso violinist and violist who began teaching at Wyoming in 1941, served as Acting Chairman during Willman's sabbatical.
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