Peter_J._Wilhousky
Peter Wilhousky
American composer, music educator, and choral conductor (1902–1978)
Peter J. Wilhousky (Ukrainian: Пітер (Петро) Вільговський; 13 July 1902 – 4 January 1978) was an American composer, music educator, and choral conductor of Rusyn descent.[1][2][3] During his childhood he was part of New York's Russian Cathedral Boys Choir and gave a performance at the White House to President Woodrow Wilson.[4] He was featured on several broadcasts of classical music with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, including the historic 1947 broadcast of Verdi's opera Otello.
In 1936, Wilhousky wrote a popular English version of the Ukrainian song "Shchedryk" by Mykola Leontovych and called it "Carol of the Bells". Wilhousky's 1944 choral arrangement of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Grammy-winning performance, and has become "arguably the most well-known choral arrangement of a hymn or anthem in the United States."[5][6][7]