biographical statement

Citation:

Merrill Bradshaw Archive Website, website viewed 2 Mar. 2011 (born in WY, June 18, 1929; taught piano at BYU, died July 12, 2000; had no teacher, but learned popular classical solos of the day; was experienced in football, basketball, track (1/2-mile—third in the State Championships), designing dance decorations, drama, and just about everything else the high school offered; played piano in a dance band-- "Blackie’s Red Jackets"-- and in the school band—bassoon and trombone; was editor of the yearbook and student body president; won a prize in the National Scholastic Composition Contest for a piece he wrote while a senior; entered BYU in the fall of 1947 to study music and english; Dr. John R. Halliday became an important mentor for him; John Halliday was instrumental in getting Merrill hired at BYU; there he taught for 37 years; composed over two hundred musical works, ranging from simple piano pieces and songs to symphonies and concertos to oratorios and pageants; best known work is The Restoration; works have been performed by many regional, national and international symphonies and choirs, including the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square; had an especially good relationship with Ralph Laycock, conductor of the orchestra for many years, who premiered many of Merrill’s orchestral works, and Ralph Woodward, conductor of the A Cappella Choir who did the same for many choral works; wrote a series of essays "Letters to a Young Mormon Composer" in an enveloping, engaging style, which encouraged and influenced many composition students; sat on the National Composers Forum board, and as the first head of the Barlow Endowment for Musical Composition met with many revered conductors and composers)

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