William So

Dr. William So received a Master of Music in composition and trumpet performance (2005) and a Doctor of Musical Arts (2008) from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. A native of Hong Kong, he started his musical training at the age of 15 with Mr. Donald Mak and Miss Estella Ho. His works have been performed throughout the United States, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Scandinavia.

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O Bone Jesu - Vanguard Premieres Contest 2004 (Honorable Mention)

The text of O bone Jesu is a traditional sacred Latin text; it was written during the ancient time of the Catholic church. This SATB with divisi choral music is divided into three sections. The first section is a description of the blessed Jesus, the second section describes the crying of men for the help of the Lord to rescue them. The piece concludes with the section longing with expectation for the second coming of Jesus giving aid to people in distress.

This music uses extensively pandiatonic harmony, with well-crafted contrapuntal techniques, and delicate text-painting techniques in order to express the beauty of the text. (Notes by the composer, 2004)

O bone Jesu
illumina oculos meos
obdormiam in morte.
Redemisti nos,
Domine, Deus veritatis.
O Messias,
locutus sum in lingua mea;
notum fac mihi,
Domine, finem meum.

O blessed Jesus,
enlighten my eyes
in the sleep of death.
You have redeemed us,
O Lord, God of truth.
O Messiah,
I have spoken with my tongue;
make known to me,
O Lord, my end.