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After serving in the U.S. Army, Walter A. Gould (1917-2007), went to work for the James A. Davidson Concert Management Agency. He was a salesman in charge of booking a tour for the then little-known Robert Shaw Chorale, featuring 30 singers and seven instrumentalists performing the classics of choral literature. On October 3, 1948, the tour opened in Cleveland, Ohio, to rave reviews. And in 1951, Walter formed his own concert management business, featuring Robert Shaw (1916-1999) as his first client. At various times, he represented many other groups, such as the Robert DeCormier Singers, the Gregg Smith Singers, and the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, and was a founding member of the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles (APVE - now ChorusAmerica).
In 1953, Robert Lawson Shaw and Walter Gould founded Lawson-Gould Music Publishers. A subsidiary of G. Schirmer, Inc., its publications originally featured the choral works of Robert Shaw, Alice Parker, and Roger Wagner. Since that time, approximately 3,500 titles have been published in the catalog, including additional works by Robert DeCormier, Dave Brubeck, Samuel Adler, James Erb, Lloyd Pfautsch, Ralph Hunter, Donald Neuen, Wendell Whalum, Salli Terri, and many more. The company was sold to Warner Bros. Publications in 2000. In 2005, Alfred Music Publishing Company, Inc., acquired this prestigious catalog and has continued to add new publications as well as reprint archive editions of some treasured favorites.
Composer/Arranger Alice Parker writes:
"I first knew Walter when he and Robert Shaw were planning the first Robert Shaw Chorale tour, in the Fall of 1948. He was just starting in the management business, and proved to be a loyal friend of Robert's through his whole life, serving for many years as his Personal Representative. He went on the first tour, as I recall, and was active in planning all of them. Walter's own business expanded to managing many well-known choral conductors, but his principal interest for many years was in presiding over Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, which he and Robert founded in 1953. This was the time that I worked most closely with him, preparing manuscripts for publication and learning about all the inside workings of that complex business. In 50 years he built Lawson-Gould into a formidable presence on the choral scene, with a catalogue second to none.”
Arranger/Conductor Robert DeCormier writes:
"Walter Gould's . . . contribution was unique in the history of choral music both as a choral music publisher and as manager and supporter of professional choral ensembles, beginning with the Robert Shaw Chorale and covering the last half of the twentieth century. I first met Walter in 1957 when I was working with Harry Belafonte. Walter became the concert manager for the Belafonte Singers and arranged concert tours for them through Columbia Artists. From 1963 to 1987 he managed the Robert DeCormier Singers and published all of my choral arrangements. He was unfailingly kind, generous, and supportive of everything I did.
Click here for a listing of the top-selling Lawson-Gould publications, available from Alfred.
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