Ovid Young

Composer, arranger, pianist, organist, and conductor Ovid W. Young was born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1940. A 1962 graduate of Olivet Nazarene University, Young maintained a relationship with his alma mater for the rest of his life, serving as University Artist in Residence. As an accomplished pianist and organist, Young played more than 7,000 performances in concert halls, churches, and colleges throughout the world. For more than three decades, he was a member of a touring piano duo with Stephen Nielson, giving thousands of solo and orchestral concerts and recording more than fifteen albums. As a composer and arranger, Young published hundreds of works, including many pieces of church music. He also composed the orchestral scores to several feature‑length films and served as the pianist‑arranger‑conductor for the operatic singing duo of Robert Hale and Dean Wilder. As a conductor, Young was the music director of the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra from 1974–84 and he appeared as guest conductor with many ensembles, including the English Chamber Orchestra, the Seoul (Korea) Philharmonic, the Danish Radio Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Denver, Phoenix, and Nashville. Young died on August 24, 2014.