Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling for Brass Quintet

Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling by William Lamartine Thompson. Arranged by Jari Villanueva for Brass Quintet. Commissioned by the Lenape Brass Ensemble, West Chester, Pennsylvania

William Lamartine Thompson (November 7, 1847 – September 20, 1909) was an American composer and music publisher. He founded the W. L.. Thompson Music Company and initially had some success with secular compositions before discovering his true calling in hymns and gospel songs.

Thompson was born on November 7, 1847, in East Liverpool, Ohio, as the youngest of seven children of Josiah Thompson, a successful merchant, manufacturer, and banker who served two terms in the Ohio state legislature. His mother, Sarah Jackman Thompson, was dedicated to social and charitable work.

Thompson graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, in 1870. In 1873, he studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and later continued his musical training in Leipzig, Germany.

Thompson married Elizabeth Johnson. They had a son, William Leland Thompson (born 1895), who was known by his middle name. The Thompsons built a large hilltop mansion on Park Boulevard in East Liverpool. The house still stands and is locally known as "the Softly and Tenderly House"

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