John Weedon Verrall was an American composer of contemporary classical music
Education
Prior to his University studies, Verrall studied composition with Donald Ferguson, followed by studies with R. O. Morris in London and Zoltán Kodály in Budapest. In the early 1930s he spent several summers at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, where he studied composition with Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, and Frederick Jacobi.
Career
He obtained a B.M. degree from the Minneapolis School of Music in 1929, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1934. He taught at Hamline University from 1934–1942 and Mount Holyoke College from 1942–1946, during which time he briefly served in the United States. Army during World World War World War II While teaching at Mount Holyoke College, Verall also worked as a music editor for G. Schirmer. In 1946 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
In 1948 he joined the music faculty at the University of Washington, where he taught composition and music theory until he retired as professor emeritus in 1973.
Several of Verrall"s students have gone on to have successful careers, including William Bolcom, Alan Stout, and Gloria Wilson Swisher.