(William) (b Auburndale, MA, Sept 15, 1863; d Cedarhurst, NY, Dec 18, 1919). American composer and church musician. At 14 he took piano and organ lessons with his mother; he later studied composition with George Chadwick, the piano with John Orth and theory with Stephen Emery in Boston. He was church organist in Dedham, Massachusetts, 1880–82. His first compositions were 50 songs on poems by Kate Greenaway, written shortly after his first year of musical study; within the next few years he composed keyboard, chamber and some short orchestral pieces. From 1882 to 1885 he studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, including composition under Josef Rheinberger. During this time he wrote his first extensive compositions, including the Ballad of a Knight and his Daughter, the cantata King Trojan and the Symphony in C. On returning to America, Parker spent several years in New York, where he taught at the cathedral schools of St Paul and St Mary (...