A&S Outstanding Former Faculty 2001

 Allan Willman

     Allan Arthur Willman first became interested in music upon hearing his sisters play the piano.  Willman earned a bachelor of music degree at Knox College Conservatory of Music and a master of music at the Chicago Musical College.  He continued his studies with several eminent teachers, including Rudolf Ganz, Alexander Raab, and Parisian Nadia Boulanger.

     In 1935, Willman won the Paderewski award for his symphonic poem, Solitude. He also received composition awards from the Frederick Stock Fund and the Fellowship of American Composers.  Willman’s compositions have been performed by the Boston symphony Orchestra, the NBC Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Denver Symphony, and the Cleveland String Symphony.  His manuscripts are on file at the American Music Center in New York City.

     The first male pianist to join the UW Department of Music, Willman began teaching piano and composition in 1936.  He became department head in 1941 and remained in that position, except for a period of military service in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, until his retirement in 1974.

     Under Willman’s direction, the music department grew into a fine performing and teaching institution.  For several years, he served as chair of the Public Exercises Committee (University Concert and Lecture Series), and he established a memorable series of summer fine Arts Festivals, bringing to campus world renowned figures in art, music, drama, and literature.  Wilman took a leadership role in the planning and development of the Fine Arts Center, and its completion was the culmination of his administrative career.

     Wilman’s dedication to Wyoming musicians and teachers became clear as he worked energetically to encourage recognition for and performance by Wyoming composers.  He founded the Wyoming Music Teachers Association and co-founded the Jackson Fine Arts Festival. 

     Willman considered the intellectual climate of UW stimulating and often referred to Laramie as the “Athens of the West.”  He gave his collection of rare books, from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, to the UW library.  As a final measure of devotion to UW, Willman left a generous bequest to the Department of Music.