William Kraft

William Kraft (born 1923, in Chicago, Illinois) is a composer, conductor, teacher, and percussionist.

Mr. Kraft was awarded two Anton Seidl Fellowships at Columbia University, graduating with a bachelor's degree cum laude in 1951 and a master's degree in 1954. He studied composition with Jack Beeson and Henry Cowell, orchestration with Henry Brant, percussion with Morris Goldenberg, timpani from Saul Goodman, and conducting with Rudolph Thomas and Fritz Zweig.

During his years in New York, Kraft was also active as a freelance musician and had the privilege of working with some of the most well known musicians of the mid-twentieth century. Kraft thoroughly enjoyed doing freelance work. Among his gigs, he played as an extra percussionist for the Metropolitan Opera and played percussion and conducted for Ondine.

In 1954, Kraft joined the Dallas Symphony. After only one season there, he moved to Los Angeles.

He took a position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic beginning in the 1955/56 season. He spent 25 years in the orchestra, the first eight as a member of the percussion section, and the remaining 17 as principal timpanist. Kraft was also the assistant conductor of the orchestra for 3 seasons under Zubin Mehta. From 1981–85, Kraft was the Composer-in-Residence for the orchestra, during which time he was also responsible for the founding and directing of the Philharmonic’s New Music Group.

During his early years in Los Angeles, he organized and directed the Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble, a group which played a vital part in premieres and recordings of works by such renowned composers as Ginastera, Harrison, Krenek, Stravinsky, Varèse, and many others. As percussion soloist, he performed the American premieres of ’s Zyklus and Boulez’s Le marteau sans maître, in addition to recording Histoire du soldat under Stravinsky’s direction.

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