{"value"=>"<p>William Turner (1952-1987) was a composer, dramatist, producer, and actor. He wrote music for plays, musicals, and operas, as well as individual songs and instrumental music. Turner studied theater at Carnegie-Mellon University and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. A founding member and artistic director of Theatre Express in Pittsburgh, Turner wrote, directed, produced, or composed music for more than 24 productions there from 1976 to 1980. These included A Lyrical Opera Made By Two To Be Sung (a libretto by Gertrude Stein), and The Unlit Corridor: A Horror Story. In addition to his own works, he directed productions of Eugene Ionesco's Killing Game and Sam Shepard's Angel City (for which he also wrote incidental music). In the early-1980s, Turner moved to New York City, where he wrote and directed an opera, A Bird in the Hand: Two Solos, and adapted, directed, and composed music for Al Carmine's Camp Meeting, which premiered in 1986 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. William Turner died of AIDS-related causes in 1987.</p> <p>This series consists of all of Turner's manuscripts, which were donated by his brother, Robert, to the American Music Center upon William's death. They include sketches, scores, lyrics, and libretti for 36 plays, songs, musicals, and operas, including Ireland; The Unlit Corridor: A Horror Story; A Lyrical Opera Made By Two To Be Sung; A Bird in the Hand: Two Solos; Camp Meeting; Angel City; In the Jungle of Cities (by Bertolt Brecht); and As You Like It. Also present is Three Short Scenes for Orchestra, written under the pen name of Herman Bernardd (a pun on the name of film composer Bernard Hermann); and Dance, also for orchestra.</p> <p>The series holds papers consisting of the program for Turner's memorial concert and an incomplete list of Turner's compositions compiled by Charles Gilbert. A slightly different (but also incomplete) listing of Turner's works is in a .pdf document accessible from the archival portal.</p>"}