Rayner Brown was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on February 23, 1912. Since 1926 he has resided in southern California. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he earned a B.Mus. degree in organ and a M.Mus. degree in composition.

Life Work

For fifty-five years he was a church organist. As a member of the American Guild of Organists, he served as Dean of the Los Angeles Chapter from 1961 to 1963 and, subsequently, as a State Chairman. He also was the Advisor for the Biola Chapter of the Guild, which in 1954 had 8 student members.

He has written over two hundred compositions, which are performed throughout the United States and in Europe. He has been the recipient of numerous commissions, Ford Foundation grants, and, for the past fifteen years, annual ASCAP awards for outstanding contributions to American music.

Rayner Brown is now Professor Emeritus of Biola University, where he taught for thirty years. Since retirement in 1977 as a teacher and as a performer, he has been able to devote much of his time to composition.

Recordings

For more information see: William Lock Oral History.