William Gibson Graf

With great sadness, we announce the passing of William Gibson Graf on June 4, 2023, known to his loved ones as Willy, Billy, Papa Bill and simply as, Bill. He passed away after battling colon cancer, a leg amputation and other afflictions stemming from a genetic foot disorder, discovered much too late. He is survived by his beloved, Judith Mazziotti and her loving children Laura and Carl and by Judi’s 6 grand children. Bill is also survived by his dearest sister Joan Margaret (Charles J.) Breitfeld and daughters, Victoria Lorraine (Gary) Rockelein and children, Bonnie Joan (Thomas) Mullen and children, and Christie June Breitfeld, and by his loving brother Robert Arthur (Susan) Graf, and sons, Jason (Catherine) Graf and children, and Brian, Steven and Christopher Graf.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Evelyn (Gibson) Graf and William Graf, owners of Wexford Mills, a once thriving sewing/textile business in Long Island, New York.

Bill was born in Ridgewood Queens/Brooklyn, NYC and raised in New Hyde Park, Long Island, graduating from Herricks High School, Ithaca College, and Stony Brook University’s very first Masters of Music program in 1971.

Bill Graf had a deep passion for the arts and also for printing, touching the hearts of those who read his books and articles, as well as those who attended his performances.

Bill began in Ithaca College in the theater department. He worked in Martha’s Vineyard for several summers accompanying performances with incidental music which he composed. He also played tuba in the Ithaca College Band and sang in its chorus. Bill’s singing career sprang to the forefront in mid 1965 when Gregg Smith, director of one of the most-recorded classical choirs in the world, enlisted Bill as just a sophomore in the Ithaca College Choir, to sing with his 16-member Gregg Smith Singers, for multiple Grammy-winning recordings. Bill Graf became Gregg Smith’s right hand man during those years and toured most of the contiguous United States performing and recording with Gregg’s group. As a graduate music student at Stony Brook, Bill became an integral part of the first years of LISCA, Gregg Smith’s Long Island Symphonic Choral Association, contributing his bass voice and his dedication.

Some of Bill’s most treasured musical moments, included singing on recordings for the renowned composer Igor Stravinsky, including at least one Stravinsky premiere, and helping prepare singers at Harvard. Bill was part of the award-winning soundtrack for what Spielberg called, “the big bang of modern cinema,” 2001: A Space Odyssey,” (1968) one of the top-rated movies of all times.

The most fun Bill ever had was in the quartet singing with the famous Rockettes dance troupe in Radio City Music Hall, NYC. He even danced with them on occasion, and accompanied them on the Radio City organ.

Bill loved his tenure as vocal professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia while conducting his cherished Fredonia Chamber Singers, leading them in numerous concerts in Fredonia as well as on two northeast tours, leaving a lasting impression wherever they went.

Bill conducted Buffalo Philharmonic musicians and professional vocalists in full operas at both Shea’s Buffalo and at Art Park in WNY in the late 1980’s.

Bill devotedly prepared and conducted the celebrated Handel’s Messiah for the Baker Memorial Community Advent Chorale of Western New York in East Aurora for an impressive 16 years, as well as directing other area church choirs. He also lent his conducting skills to the Camerata Singers in Buffalo, New York. He left these posts only when his health no longer permitted him to safely stand at the podium.

Pastor Brian Rotach, a vocal student of Bill’s at SUNY Fredonia who also sang in two of Bill’s subsequent choirs said of his conducting: “Bill was a meticulous and passionate conductor, hearing each and every voice, fine-tuning every performance to extraordinarily high standards, discussing the meaning of the text at length, bringing out all its very nuances of meaning.”

Temple Beth Zion, WNY’s largest Jewish congregation and one of the oldest and largest reform congregations in the nation, engaged Bill over a 28-year period to sing bass in their quartet for High Holidays and later also for their Friday and Saturday services when he was not otherwise engaged musically.

Bill sang in operas and musicals such as: “Madama Butterfly” at Kleinhans Music Hall with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and at Lancaster Opera House, including Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a “Stephen Foster Retrospective” and a wide variety of musicals with Nostalgia. At the University of Buffalo, Bill sang solo roles in Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Bill faithfully accompanied church services for 15 years as Sunday organist at Woodside United Methodist and at Seneca St. United Methodist churches in Buffalo, under Pastor Rotach.

During the Covid lockdown of 2020, Bill continued to explore his creative gifts. He was managed by Nouveaux Talent, of New York City, auditioning for voiceover recordings, and sharing his considerable expertise in microphone use and audio editing. As a voice artist, Bill also began narrating Opera Plots on his own YouTube channel!

Since 2020, Bill has also published Piano-Vocal scores that are sold on Amazon, designing the entire layout and the cover art himself.

As a printer and businessman, Bill ventured into publishing with the Tri-County Press, putting out the Tri-County Times in Arcade, and later opened his own Roycroft Print Shop on its famed campus in East Aurora, and then in 1988 with Judith Mazziotti, he opened Desktop Express on Main Street in the theater district of downtown Buffalo, the first desktop printing establishment in the city. While at Desktop Express, Bill and Judi founded the well-loved Arts in Buffalo, the first bi-weekly arts newspaper, and then the Italian American Journal, the city’s first bilingual Italian biweekly, their gifts to the city of Buffalo.

Bill loved to laugh and to keep others laughing. As such, Judi was inspired to compile a notebook of his daily jokes.

Bill was a sports enthusiast: at the age of 10, he saw the famed Jackie Robinson play baseball and got a signed ball which after being well-played with, promptly landed in the sewer. Unfortunately, a broken finger while catching a baseball, stopped him from becoming a concert pianist. During his last week, if he wasn’t listening to an opera, he was listening to the New York Mets. He was checking the game schedule right up to his very last day!

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Bill possessed a passion for woodworking and craftsmanship. He lovingly built Montessori shelves for Judi's annual summer Italian camps in Rochester at Nazareth College and in Buffalo at Daemen College and Randall Church. He also played a significant role in administering these Italian camps, showcasing his dedication to education and creating enriching experiences for others.

Bill was an avid reader and would alternate history tomes, literary classics and detective stories throughout the year, totaling over 100 books annually. In later years, he couldn’t turn the pages so he listened to Audible books at accelerated speed, as he simultaneously read the text projected on his TV screen.

Bill consistently went above and beyond to encourage the pursuit of music, education and entrepreneurship. He has donated hundreds of opera and vocal scores he printed to area colleges, and there are more to come. His unwavering commitment to fostering the talents and dreams of others left an indelible mark on the lives he touched.

Above all else, Bill will be remembered as a loyal and supportive presence to his family and friends. He will be dearly missed but fondly remembered by all those who had the privilege of knowing him. May his soul find eternal peace and may his contributions to the world of music continue to inspire generations to come.