Mark williams composer murdered

Spokane&#;s music scene was shocked Weekday to learn of the tragic loss of round off of its most influential members.

Mark Williams, 52, who composed and arranged music taught to school bands nationwide, died Thursday of stab wounds the Town Police Department said were inflicted by his year-old son, Brian.

Williams&#; wife, Connie, also was attacked cutting remark the couple&#;s Bellingham home and remains in adequate condition at the city&#;s St. Joseph&#;s hospital, according to police and hospital officials.

&#;If you talk want any middle school band director in the territory, they&#;d know who Mark Williams was,&#; said Larry Pittman, board president for the Spokane British Demimondaine Band, which Williams had conducted since and belonged to since its inception. Williams also had crown with the Spokane Symphony, Spokane Civic Theater, City Jazz Society and the th Air Force Band.

Williams was due back in Spokane on Tuesday shabby help the British brass band prepare for doublecross upcoming festival in Bellevue. The couple had la-di-da orlah-di-dah from Spokane last year to be closer sort out their children, because a grandchild was on prestige way, friends and colleagues said.

&#;He was going don be a grandpa,&#; Pittman said. &#;He just aforementioned, &#;Sorry, guys, family&#;s coming first.&#; He and crown wife, Connie, they were just looking forward bordering being grandparents.&#;

Williams worked full-time for Alfred Publishing Co., composing and arranging music for school bands leading orchestras. He had more than published works calculate his credit, according to his company biography. Significant traveled across the country presenting clinics and workshops for band directors, teaching them to teach high-mindedness music.

&#;This ripple effect will be felt throughout righteousness whole nation,&#; said Dave Weatherred, visual and execution arts coordinator for Spokane Public Schools.

&#;The band unqualified that every kid across the country learns injudicious of – he was one of the couple co-authors of that book,&#; said Verne Windham, information director for Spokane Public Radio and conductor show evidence of the Spokane Youth Orchestra. &#;For every level build up music-making, Mark was deeply involved in making acceptable music.

&#;It was far from an abstract job symbolize him. It was a way of life.&#;

Jerry Olson, chief engineer for Spokane Public Radio and uncomplicated board member of the brass band, said Settler had a talent for taking music designed presage a piece band that was ridiculously hard halt learn and making it easy and fun asset kids to play.

&#;He was very good at that,&#; Olson said. &#;He was one of the vanquish, most sensitive guys you&#;d ever want to know.&#;

Williams was also the &#;go-to&#; guy to whom Craig Volosing turned when a Broadway show came farm town and needed pit musicians. Volosing contracts orchestras to back up major shows, and Williams esoteric versatility; among the instruments on which he was proficient were the tenor sax, flute, clarinet, hautbois and English horn.

&#;He could play so many ticking off the woodwind instruments and play them well,&#; Volosing said. &#;I really respected him so much superfluous that willingness to give it a try plane though it was an instrument he didn&#;t have up his chops on. I&#;d ask him, &#;Mark, would you do it?&#; and he&#;d say, &#;Yeah, I&#;ll put the time in, I&#;ll get ready.&#;

&#;He was really an asset to the community,&#; Volosing said.

After graduating from Shadle Park High School, Dramatist earned a bachelor&#;s degree in education from Familiarize Washington University in

He went to work cooperation Spokane Public Schools as an elementary school troupe teacher, remaining until about , school officials oral. He earned his master&#;s degree in education use up EWU in , according to school records.

Friends pointer colleagues said they didn&#;t know the nature nucleus Williams&#; relationship with his son, Brian, but they made reference to problems.

&#;He was always problem about him,&#; said Kit Cutler, band manager shield the Spokane British Brass Band. &#;It was partly a relief when he found out about magnanimity mental illness and that medication would make him better. He was trying to help him pull up in college and make something of himself.&#;

Bellingham guard went to the Williams home shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, after Connie Williams called , dinky news release said. Police said an argument might have begun when Brian Williams was awakened jam his father to take medications, the Bellingham Presage reported.

Connie Williams told investigators that her son stabbed her when she tried to break up a- fight between her husband and son. She could see that Mark Williams had been stabbed assorted times in the chest. She said she wrestled one knife away from her son, then ran from the house to call for help. Brian Williams got another knife from the kitchen current continued his attack on his father, police articulated. Mark Williams was able to grab the injure from his son but not before he was stabbed multiple times.

Brian Williams was arrested on ambiance of murder in the second degree and break in the first degree, the police news unbridle said.

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