Southern Music Company

Kaddish was commissioned by and dedicated to Howard Dunn and the Richardson High School Band of Richardson, Texas. The premiere of the Kaddish was in March of 1976 with the Richardson High School Band, the composer conducting.
The Kaddish is the Jewish prayer for the dead. It is said by the bereaved each morning and evening for eleven months and on the anniversary of the death thereafter. The composition was written as a memorial for James Clifton Williams, teacher of the composer of this work. The "heartbeat" that runs throughout the piece in the percussion is a rhythmic quote from Williams' Caccia and Chorale.