Bill Hicok

I was born in Cleveland but grew up in upstate New York with my brother and two sisters. I graduated from Michigan State University in 1963 with a BA and a commission as a 2nd lieutenant, and then spent the next 28 years in the army, traveling the world and dodging the occasional bullet. I retired in 1991, took up watercolor and acrylic painting for a few years. The unsold ones still hang in our home.

After while, having been used to moving around, restlessness set in so I bought a large black Harley-Davidson touring motorcycle, learned to ride it and took off from April through September, 1999 on a 16000 mile, 34 state ride around the country. I kept a log and even wrote a book about the trip, which unfortunately, remains in draft form. My brother and I still take a bike trip to one place or another for a couple of weeks each year.

Soon after the long ride I began to regret never having learned to play a musical instrument. I’ve been a lover of classical music and a supporter of WHRO for years, so I bought a guitar, and with no idea what I was doing, began taking lessons. I started buying CDs of classical guitar music and one of the first was Guitar Favorites on NAXOS with guitarist Norbert Kraft. On that CD is a beautiful piece by the Paraguayan guitarist and composer Agustin Barrios called Julia Florida. I played that CD and particularly that piece by Barrios over and over, and I was hooked. I especially love the music of Barrios, and it was in part the inspiration for Silver Moonbeams. The name comes from a poem he wrote and is a reference to the strings of his guitar.
The idea for the program came as I read and listened more and more and became more enamored of the music of this beautiful instrument. In the fall of 2002 my teacher helped me make a demonstration CD for a half-hour program of music for guitar; I sent it to Dwight Davis and the first program aired on May 4th, 2003, with the same music and narrative as the audition.
My wife Marilyn and I have lived happily in Poquoson for the past twelve years serving as staff for two ridiculous cats. We have five children and five beautiful grandchildren. Life is better than good.