William (Bill) O. Smith papers, approximately 1930s-2020

William (Bill) Overton Smith (1926-2020) was a famed clarinetist, jazz and classical musician, composer, and UW Music professor. He was commonly referred to by his nickname Bill, and he chose to write and perform his jazz compositions under the name Bill Smith while using the name William O. Smith for his classical work. Smith was seen as an innovator with the clarinet and was well known for his clarinet compositions, clarinet notation, and work in third stream jazz. He was also known for playing two clarinets at once, imitating the style of the classical double aulos. Smith was a frequent collaborator with jazz musician Dave Brubeck. Smith was an on again off again member of the Brubeck quartet and frequently collaborated with the group and was a founding member of the Brubeck Octet. From the 40's onwards, Smith worked primarily as a musician in places such as Europe, where he won the Prix de Paris and Prix de Rome before moving into his job as a music professor while still composing and performing. Smith taught at UCLA before starting his long-term professorship at UW from 1966-1997. Smith married his second wife, painter Virginia Paquette Smith in 1978.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Smith_(jazz_musician) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/arts/music/bill-smith-dead.html https://music.washington.edu/news/2020/05/18/passages-william-o-smith-composer-master-musician-and-longtime-former-uw-professor