'Dr. William Banfield, composer, guitarist, author and educator' is Professor at Berklee College of Music

African Heritage Symphonic Series, Volume III;
William Banfield: Essay for Orchestra(10:33);
Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, Conductor;
Cedille CDR 90000 066 (2002)

Musical Landscapes in Color:
Conversations With Black American Composers;
William C. Banfield;
 Scarecrow Press (2003)

[William C. Banfield]

On April 20, 2012 AfriClassical posted: “Washington Times: NSO Concert was designed to frame the world premiere of William C. Banfield's 'Symphony No. 10: Affirmations for a New World.”  We have since exchanged messages with the composer, and we present his overview of his career in music:

William C. Banfield    

Dr. William Banfield, composer, guitarist, author and educator, currently serves as Professor of Africana Studies/Music and Society, director of the Africana Studies Center Berklee College of Music.

A native Detroiter, he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, a Master of Theological Studies from Boston University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from the University of Michigan. Before coming to Berklee, he held the Endowed Chair of Humanities and Fine Arts, director of American Cultural Studies, University of St. Thomas, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Music, Indiana University, and served as a W.E.B. Dubois fellow, Harvard university.

Bill is currently chair of the Black Music Culture panels for the PopularCulture and American Culture Association conferences.

He is author of Landscapes in Color: Conversations With Black American Composers (2003), Black Notes: Essays of A Musician Writing In A Post Album Age, (2004), Cultural Codes: Makings Of A Black Music Philosophy (2010), Representing Black Music Culture), on Scarecrow Press. He serves as the consulting editor of Cultural Studies/Jazz Publications, Scarecrow Press, and has written regular columns for Downbeat and Diversity magazines.

Banfield served on the Pulitzer Prize composition panel, 2011, which awarded the first Chinese American prize to Madame White Snake by Zhou Long.

Dr. Banfield was recently hired by Quincy Jones (2010) to write a national music curriculum for schools learning about American popular music.

He hosted his own NPR and MPR shows interviewing and highlighting the music of composers and popular artists addressing connections between music and society.

Bill’s current recordings as a jazz guitarist are carried on the Innovalabel, and symphonic works on Tel Arc, Albany, Centaur and Collins Classics labels.

Banfield’s symphonic works have been performed and recorded by such symphonies as; the National Symphony, Atlanta, Dallas, Akron, Detroit, New York Virtuoso, Grand Rapids, Richmond, Toledo, Savannah, Indianapolis, Sacramento and San Diego symphonies.