William Horne (b. 1952) is a composer of “classical” music—i.e., not Pop, not Rock, not Jazz—and a music researcher specializing in the music of Johannes Brahms. He taught at Loyola University New Orleans for over forty years, and now lives in Covington, Louisiana.
A native of Milledgeville, Georgia, Horne studied piano and composition at Florida State University (BM) Yale University (MM), and The University of North Texas (DMA). His recent music—mostly instrumental chamber music, songs, and choral works—prioritizes memorable melodies and traditional forms. His music has been premiered at the annual meetings of the National Flute Association and the North American Saxophone Alliance, and in numerous university venues, and has been performed by pianists Logan Skelton, Amir Khosrowpour, and John Murphy, vocal artists Ellen Frohnmayer, Jennifer Goltz, and Philip Frohnmayer, by members of the JACK Quartet, the Musaica Chamber Ensemble, members of the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra, and the NOVA Chorale, among many others. His music can be heard on the Centaur and Blue Griffin labels.
As a researcher, Horne has published in scholarly journals such as The Musical Quarterly, The Journal of Musicology, Beethoven Forum, Brahms Studies, The Journal of Musicological Research, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, and NOTES, as well as in various essay collections. He is a member of the American Musicological Society, the American Brahms Society, and the Johannes-Brahms-Gesellschaft Hamburg.