Peter J. Wilhousky (July 13, 1902, Passaic, New Jersey, USA - January 4, 1978, Norwalk) was a popular American composer, choral conductor, arranger, and teacher of Ukrainian descent.
He was born on July 13, 1902, in Passaic, New Jersey, to Joseph Wilgowski and Julia (Olena) Hnat, who came from the Pryashiv region. His father came from the village of Vyshniy Orlyk, and his mother from the village of Udol[3].
The boy's musical talents were nurtured by his parents from a very young age, both at home and in the church choir. For five years as a child, he was a member of the choir of the Russian Cathedral in New York. He became a soprano soloist and performed in numerous concerts and services at the cathedral, and performed at the White House for U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.
Petro Vilhovsky also studied violin and piano. He continued his musical education in New York City and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from what is now known as the Juilliard School. He worked as a music teacher at New Ulthrecht High School in Brooklyn, at which time he began organizing students into choirs, which he directed for the next twenty-five years. His 1,500-student choir performed to great acclaim at Madison Square Garden in 1936 for the National Music Teachers Association. His student choirs performed annually at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He also taught choral conductors and music educators at the Juilliard School of Music. Collaborating with the famous conductor Arturo Toscanini, they prepared a choir of 600 singers to perform "Hymn to the Nations" under Toscanini's direction at a concert in Madison Square Garden in 1944.
For some time he worked as an arranger for the NBC Radio Symphony Orchestra.
In 1936, Peter Wilgowski composed an English version of "Shchedryk"[4], now the world-famous Carol of the Bells[5], for the NBC Radio Symphony Orchestra[6]. It was in this version that "Shchedryk" gained worldwide fame.
Petro Vilhovsky died of cancer on January 4, 1978, in the state of Connecticut, at Norwalk Hospital, when he was 75 years old. He was buried in the family crypt at the Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Cemetery in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
Works.
In 1936, he wrote a series of English texts for the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych's composition "Shchedryk," the latest version of which is known as Carol of the Bells, which has become one of the most popular Christmas songs in the world.
His emotionally charged arrangement of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," composed in 1944, is often chosen by United States military bands. A recording of this work by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir won a Grammy in 1959 for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Chorus.
