William "Bill" Skidmore (1941- ) was born in Urbana, Illinois. His father, James Russell Skidmore, received his bachelors and masters degrees in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in the late 1930s, performing cello in numerous university ensembles and singing in the Men's Glee Club. William also studied cello at the University of Illinois, graduating with his bachelors degree with high honors in music in 1963. During his senior year, William won the university's concerto competion, performing Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme." His future wife, Dorothy Hubbard, had previously won the 1962 concerto competition, performing Charles Tomlinson Griffes' "Poem" for flute. When the university announced that its symphony orchestra would embark on a semester-long tour of Latin America during the Spring of 1964, William was selected to play the Tchaikovsky on one of the four tour programs as featured soloist. All orchestra members were required to receive mandatory vacines for illinesses they may encounter on the trip. Dorothy was hospitalized after receiving one such immunization and she was unable to attend the tour as a result.
The University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra's Latin America Tour ran from January to June 1964, with the orchestra and several student chamber ensembles performing in numerous cities in Mexico, Hondouras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. The ensemble was in Brazil during the April 1964 Brazilian coup d'etat, which kept them from playing in the new capital, Brasilia, because the State Department feared they might be isolated there. In Peru, several of their performances were canceled because of a period of mourning following a mass casuality event that took place after a soccer match. The State Department, however, managed to convince the Peruvian government that an orchestra concert would be appropriate, and their final concert was allowed. Members of the orchestra were paid a daily wage of $16 by the US State Department and were encouraged to explore each of the host countries during their stay. In addition to performing works by Beethoven and Haydn, the orchestra played works by North and South American composers on each concert. Every performance given by the orchestra ended with several encore pieces, including John Philip Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.
After returning to the United States in the summer of 1964, Skidmore and Hubbard married. They would eventually have two boys, Robert and Daniel. At the age of 23, Skidmore was hired as instructor of cello at the University of Maryland, where he would stay until 1974, and Dorothy became flute instructor for the Catholic University of America and Rockville Junior College. After securing these positions, William and Dorothy finished their masters degrees at the University of Illinois in the summer of 1966.
At the University of Maryland, Skidmore performed in the Maryland Trio alongside Joel Berman and Evelyn Garvey, who had recently divorced University of Illinois viola instructor John Garvey establishing herself as a professor of piano there. The trio gave a highly praised recital at the National Gallery of Art, featuring works by University of Illinois Composers Jan Bach and Burrill Phillips. With the Trio, Skidmore and Dorothy made a commercial recording of Robert Parris' Book of Imaginary Brings. Upon leaving the University of Maryland, Skidmore joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the BSO Quartet alongside Isador Saslav, William Martin and Thomas Dumm. In 1977, he accepted a professorship at West Virginia University, joining Donald Portnoy and Herman Godes in the American Arts Trio. While in West Virginia, he became the principal cellist with the West Virginia Symphonette and the Ohio Valley Symphony. He and Dorothy collaborated with pianist, Herman Godes as the Monongahela Trio, which gave recitals throughout the Ohio Valley Region. Skidmore retired in 2016 as Professor Emeritus.
Sources:William Skidmore "Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the UISO's South American Tour," Sonorities (2024): 34-35.
Email exchange with William Skidmore, 2024.
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