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William Boyce (September 1, 1711 – February
7, 1779) is widely regarded as one of the most
important England|English-born composers of the
18th century.

Born in London, Boyce was a choirboy at St Paul's
Cathedral before studying music with Maurice
Greene (composer)|Maurice Greene after his voice
broke. His first professional appointment came in
1734 when he got a job as an organist. He went on
to take a number of similar posts before being
appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1755 and
becoming organist at the Chapel Royal in 1758.

When Boyce's deafness became so bad that he was
unable to continue in his organist posts, he
retired and worked on completing the compilation
Cathedral Music that his teacher Greene had left
incomplete at his death. This led to Boyce editing
works by the likes of William Byrd and Henry
Purcell. Many of the pieces in the collection are
still used in Anglican services today.

Boyce is best known for his set of eight
symphonies, his anthems and his odes. He also
wrote  the masque Peleus and Thetis and songs for
John Dryden's Secular Masque, incidental music for
William Shakespeare's The Tempest (play)|The
Tempest, Cymbeline, Romeo and Juliet and The
Winter's Tale, and a quantity of chamber music
including a set of twelve trio sonatas.

Boyce was largely forgotten after his death and he
remains a little-performed composer today,
although a number of his pieces were rediscovered
in the 1930s and Constant Lambert edited and
sometimes Conducting|conducted his works.