Crawford Gates

He was born to Gilbert Marion Gates and Leila Adair Gates in San Francisco, California on December 29th, 1921. He was a lifelong musician and composed and performed his first piece when he was eight years old. He earned his first commission when he was 14. Crawford graduated high school at 16 and attended the College of the Pacific and San Jose State before serving an LDS mission in the Eastern States. As a missionary he arranged and directed music for a group of eight missionaries who formed the Mormon Male Chorus of Philadelphia. Their weekly broadcast on WFIL had a substantial impact on missionary work in the region. Just before the end of his mission, Pearl Harbor was bombed and Crawford returned home and enlisted in the Navy. He completed his Officer’s Training and his Bachelor’s Degree simultaneously and was stationed in Hawaii for the duration of the war. In 1946 Crawford began his graduate studies at Brigham Young University in music. Later that year the Utah Centennial Commission announced plans to celebrate 100 years of Utah history. Crawford was commissioned to write the musical score to Promised Valley. He was 25 years of age at time. He finished his Master’s in Music and taught in the music department, while searching for the woman he would affectionately call ‘my dear sweet love’. Crawford finally met Georgia Lauper, a smart, beautiful, and talented musician. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple in December 1952. Over the next 5 years, they were blessed with 4 children, two girls and two boys. Crawford was on the faculty of BYU and was mentored by Maurice Abravanel, conductor of the Utah Symphony, taking advantage of many musical opportunities. He earned his Doctorate degree from the Eastman School of Music in 1954. Intermittently over a four year period, Crawford composed an original score for the Hill Cumorah Pageant which debuted in 1957. Thirty years later the entire production was revamped and his rewritten score is being used to this day. In 1966, the Gates family moved to Wisconsin where he had been appointed the conductor of the Beloit Janesville Symphony. Later, he also became the conductor of the Quincy Symphony, and Rockford Symphony. During this time he was commissioned to write many symphonic works including Ballad of the Prairie State, Wisconsin Profiles, Lake Songs, and Visions of Eternity. He was the recipient of many awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). His hymns Ring Out Wild Bells and Our Savior’s Love are included in the 1985 LDS hymnal. In 1999 Crawford and Georgia moved to Salt Lake City to continue various composing projects and to be closer to their children. Crawford worked closely with BYU to create an archive of his nearly 900 musical works and appeared as a guest conductor numerous times. He was tirelessly devoted to his family, regularly travelling with Georgia to all the major life events of their 14 living grandchildren.

His is truly a life to be celebrated. He was a disciple of Christ first and foremost and was a marvelous example to his family. He frequently expressed gratitude for the blessings of his life.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his daughter-in-law Nancy Bliss Gates, his grandson Shepard Chamberlain Gates, and brother-in-law Gib Hutchings. He is survived by his loving wife Georgia, 4 children, 14 grandchildren, and 28 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the LDS Missionary Fund, or the Utah Symphony.

A Memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on June 23 at the Monument Park Stake Center at 1320 South Wasatch Dr; Salt Lake City, Utah. There will be a viewing the night before from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the LDS Chapel at 2255 South Wasatch Drive East Salt Lake City, Utah.

Online condolences may be shared at www.wasatchlawn.com.