School of Music Visiting Artist
William Roper is a multi-disciplinary artist residing in Los Angeles. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, , Cal State Northridge, L.A. City College and Carnegie-Mellon University. He has toured Europe, the Americas and Japan as a soloist and with ensembles. He has released 14 recordings as leader/co-leader and is sideman on 60+ recordings. He has founded several ensembles, most significantly Purple Gums. He founded Tomato Sage Consortium, a presenting organization, existing today as a small record label.
Roper specializes in solo tuba performance, free improvisation, extemporaneous spoken word and performance art. His compositions are for solo instruments and small ensembles. He has created several works in collaboration with choreographers, dramaturges and videographers. He has held residencies at Djerassi Resident Artist Program, the Oberpfalzer Kuentslerhaus in Germany and was a Fellow of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission in Japan. He has received awards for the creation and performance of new work in composition, performance, theatre and dance from the NEA, CAC, L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs, American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, American Music Center, Durfee Foundation, Eastside Arts Initiative and the Center for Cultural Innovation. He has fulfilled commissions from Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Heidi Duckler Dance, Gloria Newman Dance Theatre, Rudy Perez Dance, Koan Quartet, USC Max Kade Institute, SASSAS, Arts Council Tokyo and others.
As a visual artist, he has exhibited in the United States and Europe. He has received awards from the Brody Arts Fund, ArtMatters, Inc., LACE/Patrick Media and the Organization of Independent Artists.