*Illustration courtesy of Ambassador J. William Middendorf II*

“Secretary of the Navy, United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, United States Ambassador to the Organization of the American States, United States Ambassador to the European Union, head of a CIA transition team, and advisor to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater…”

That is how the inside of the front jacket of On My 100-Year Watch: Tyrants and Patriots, by J. William Middendorf II with Kenneth R. Dooley, begins. What does this have to do with the work we do?

A recent trip to Little Compton, Rhode Island gave us a chance to talk with Ambassador Middendorf, not about politics or his impressive career of service to our country, but about his life as a composer. In this post we will barely scratch the surface of his musical life, but we promise there is more to come.

While serving as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, he met Somtow Suchartikul, the son of the Thai Ambassador to the Netherlands. Middendorf describes him as a musical genius, and they developed a collaboration that led to hymns, a piano concerto and the Symphony in C Major, A Holland Symphony, in 1972. It was composed to celebrate Queen Juliana’s 25th year on the throne.

Middendorf had the opportunity to conduct the Boston Pops and was given some valuable conducting advice by Arthur Fiedler: “The secret of conducting? When the band stops playing, stop waving.”

Ambassador Middendorf (left) with pianist Arthur Rubenstein (right). Rubenstein was the guest of honor at a dinner at the Ambassador's residence. When Rubenstein was asked to play the piano, a Bosendorfer grand piano, he said, "Oh, I have to tell you, I am under contract with Steinway, and I am not permitted to touch another instrument." (On My 100-Year Watch, pg. 271)
*Photo courtesy of Ambassador J. William Middendorf II*

The Ambassador’s compositions include a number of marches. A great example is The Battle of Midway March, composed in 1995, for the 50th anniversary celebration of the August 1945 battle.

Another march we want to highlight is his Naval Order March, composed in 1999 and dedicated to Admiral of the Navy, George Dewey.

In 2023, it was announced that the Navy would begin construction of the Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile class Destroyer U.S.S. J. William Middendorf.

In 1976, his Violin Concerto in d minor premiered and it caught the attention of conductor Richard Hayman and violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who said, “I listened to the Violin Concerto, and its spontaneous warmth and melodiousness are among its most pleasing qualities. Surely, you must be the first Secretary of the Navy to have composed a violin concerto! How fortunate we are that so sensitive and responsible a position in government is vested in a person of such great musical sensibility as yourself.” (On My 100-Year Watch, pg. 272)

Middendorf goes on to say that “…[I] was very grateful for the quotes from Maestro Hayman and Yehudi Menuhin, but a review from my eight-year-old granddaughter gave me another perspective. In a quote from Mark Twain, she cheerfully said, ‘Granddaddy, your music is not as bad as it sounds.’” (On My 100-Year Watch, pg. 272).