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AFRO-AMERICAN FRAGMENTS
Reviews of CD ...through the green fuse…
The rhythmic energy here was arresting.

Austin American-Statesman Review

I love Will's music because it is so beautifully crafted: the ranges are great for singers, the proportions are well-balanced, and the climax arrives at the perfect moment. More than that, though, I love Will's music because each piece carries the singers and audience to a unique and magical world. His voice is like no other's.

Robert Bode, conductor – Ohio State University
Choral Arts Northwest, retired

AFRO-AMERICAN FRAGMENTS
Reviews of CD ...through the green fuse…

“Feet o' Jesus,” a poignant a cappella expression full of vibrant, sometimes pungent harmonies...

Classics Today.com

The first time I heard Will’s music was at an ACDA conference about 10 years ago when a choir performed his Afro-American Fragments. I was immediately struck by the freshness, the originality, and the sophisticated harmonic architecture beneath the immediacy and accessibility of the music, along with a rare sensitivity to the text, and I knew I had to perform this music myself. Since that time the choirs I direct have performed many of Will’s works with great satisfaction, including Sea Poems, a work for choir and solo cello that we commissioned for a European concert tour. I highly recommend his music.

John Jost, conductor – Bradley University, retired

AFRO-AMERICAN FRAGMENTS
Reviews of CD ...through the green fuse…

"Song for Billie Holiday," a supple blend of lyrical modernism and blues style. One could imagine Holiday singing it…

Express-News

In 1991, I was honored to sing the premier of Afro-American Fragments under Will's direction. I love his unique style of writing and especially, his signature trait of four-handed piano accompaniment. Twice, I have commissioned him to write for my community choir. He always comes up with the perfect texts and appropriate level of difficulty/ease for my singers.”

Michael Main, founding artistic director - Arts Chorale of Winchester (VA)

THE DEEPNESS OF THE BLUE
CD Review
Averitt shapes, modulates and manipulates the underlying pulse… these musical effects… combined with the powerful imagery of the poetry, conjure up complex, conflicted emotional experiences over which the choral lines lay out like in a dream. …

Gramophone

Working with Will’s music has been some of the most rewarding work of my career. His ability to create compelling music is astounding and captivates both the performer and listener from start to finish. We have had the opportunity to work with him on two commissions, both of which have been incredibly rewarding.

Cameron LaBarr, conductor – Missouri State University

THE DREAM KEEPER
CD Review
The text painting is powerfully composed as the piece progresses with homophonic chords of stark beauty… the text painting is quite striking.

The Choral Room, Choral Newsletter

Will’s music is imaginative, unique and engaging. He has the ability to capture the mood and style of the poetry in ways few composers can. After performing both The Dream Keeper and Afro-American Fragments, I was thrilled to commission Will for Black Pierrot for Mizzou's University Singers. The commission resulted in one of the most profound and engaging music experiences I've had.

Paul Crabb, conductor – University of Missouri

AMERICAN FOLK SONG SUITE
Publication Review
This work is a wonderful addition to the repertoire for flute, cello, and piano. The settings of the songs are quite imaginative, spreading the melodies throughout the ensemble, and utilizing jazzy harmonies, changing meters and syncopation to give fresh life to these familiar tunes.

NACWPI Journal

FOUR APPALACHIAN FOLK BALLADS
Performance Review

… the crowning jewel of this extraordinary evening.

translated from Gmünder Post

TRIPARTITA
CD Review
… a quite attractive work, superbly crafted and ingenuously worked-out.

Music Web UK

TRIPARTITA
CD Review
All in all, it is a moving piece of music.

The American Record Guide

TRIPARTITA
CD Review
… richly evocative, well-crafted and clearly meant to be listened to.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch

TRIPARTITA

Performance Review

At the beginning he merges the two in sheets of thin, icy legato supported by rippling piano effects. At the end the sonorities evoke a squawky honky-tonk and the rough march-like melodic style of Kurt Weill.

The New York Times

ELEGY
Performance Review
... a finely-wrought piece of atonal (and modal) impressionism… its effect was hypnotic.

The Springfield [VA] Independent

PARTITA
Performance Review

… attractive sonorities that bid for one's attention throughout.

The Alanta Journal

PARTITA
Performance Review

... unique and effective… definitely deserves attention.

The Atlanta Marquee