THE MUSIC OF QUINCY C. HILLIARD

Quincy C. Hilliard is the 2023 recipient of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Eminent Faculty Distinguished Professor Award. Dr. Hilliard’s compositions for wind band are published by a variety of well known publishers. In 2021 he was commissioned by Trinity College Press (London) to compose eight pieces for their new Woodwind Examination Syllabus. Currently, he is completing a book with two other distinguished music educators entitiled Teaching Instrumental Music Across Settings: Contemporary Perspectives and Pedagogies, which has been accepted for for publication by Oxford University Press. In 2014, Hilliard received the prestigious Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in the Classical Music Division. He was also recognized with a second Global Music Award for his work as a composer. In 2012, one of his pieces, Coty (clarinet and piano) was recorded on a CD that was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2008, he was commissioned by the Library of Congress to compose a work in celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. He is frequently commissioned to compose works, including one for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and a score for a documentary film, The Texas Rangers. For many years, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) has recognized him with annual awards for the unusually frequent performance of his compositions. Hilliard is regularly invited to conduct, demonstrate effective techniques, and adjudicate festivals throughout the world.

Currently, Hilliard holds the position of Composer in Residence and is the Heymann Endowed Professor of Music at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Previous teaching positions were at Nicholls State University, Florida International University, North Marion High School (Sparr, Florida) and White Station Junior and Senior High School (Memphis, Tennessee).

He holds the Ph.D. in music theory and composition from the University of Florida where, in 1999, he was recognized as the Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Music. He holds the Masters of Music Education from Arkansas State University and the Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Mississippi State University where he was designated College of Education 1998 Alumnus of the Year. Hilliard’s early music experience was as a trumpet player in the public elementary and high school of his native Starkville, Mississippi. Dr. Hilliard is also president of Hilliard Music Enterprises, Inc. a personal consulting firm, which has a corporate board of distinguished music educators. He and his wife Rubye have two sons.