Randall Thompson

Randall Thompson (1899-1984) was an American composer who became famous for his numerous choral works, including the popular Alleluia, The Peaceable Kingdom, and The Testament of Freedom. In the 1920s, after attending Harvard and the American Academy in Rome, Thompson took up the cause of music education at the collegiate level, aided by a Guggenheim grant. Though the bulk of his output was for choir, Thompson composed three symphonies and various instrumental works, including two string quartets and a suite for the unusual combination of oboe, clarinet, and viola. Thompson's music was championed by Sergey Koussevitzky and Leonard Bernstein.