Christian composer biography
Christian composer biography definition...
Ralph Carmichael
American composer (–)
Ralph Carmichael (May 27, – October 18, ) was an American composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music.
He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music.
Christian composer biography
Early life and career
Carmichael was born in Quincy, Illinois, the son of a Pentecostal minister. As a teenager, Carmichael played violin with the San Jose Civic Symphony. At seventeen, he enrolled at Southern California Bible College (now Vanguard University) to become a preacher like his father, grandfather, three uncles, and five cousins.
He started a campus men's quartet, as well as ensembles and mixed groups of all kinds, blending jazz and classical music techniques with gospel songs and hymns. His bands were unwelcomed at many churches, and he was not allowed to store his baritone saxophone on campus because of its associations with big band music.[1]
After college, Carmichael's band received mixed reactions f