William DeFotis Papers, 1953-2004 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Materials are arranged in four series, which are as follows:

Series 1) Personal Papers, is unrranged.

Series 2) Music, is arranged in two sub-series: sub-series 1) Original Compositions and sub-series 2) Translations and Orchestrations by DeFotis.

Series 3) Audio and Audio Visual Recordings, is arranged in two sub-series: sub-series 1) Audio Recordings and sub-series 2) Films.

and Series 4) Research and Correspondence, which is arranged in three sub-series: sub-series 1) Research Files, Publications, Lectures, and Notes; sub-series 2) Tenure Documents; and sub-series 3) Correspondence.

William "Bill" George DeFotis (1953-2003) was born in Chicago, Illinois. DeFotis graduated from Elk Grove High Schol (Elk Grove, IL), where he began composing and playing clarinet. Following this, he studied music composition with Herbert Brün, Ben Johnston, and Morgan Powell at the University of Illinois, earning his Bachelor's of Music (1975) and his Master's of Music (1977). In 1977 he traveled to Germany on a Fulbright grant to study with composer and musicologist Wolf Rosenberg. During this period, he toured with Musica Negativa, playing clarinet throughout Germany. Upon his return to the United States, DeFotis attended the University of Iowa, earning a DMA in conducting. From 1983 to 1985, he taught composition and orchestra at Baylor University and from 1986 to 1996 he taught conducting, composition, and a course in women's studies at the College of William and Mary.

DeFotis's compositions have been performed by the LaSalle Quartet, Percussion Group Cincinnati, Opus One, the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory Philharmonia, and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. He took medical retirement in 1996, after which he composed and recorded more than a dozen songs for the album Satire is Serious Business, which was released by Centaur Records. DeFotis died due to complications from multiple sclerosis in 2003.