william francis mcbeth (march 9, 1933 – january 6, 2012) was an american composer, whose wind band works are highly respected. his primary musical influences included clifton williams, bernard rogers, and howard hanson. the popularity of his works in the united states during the last half of the twentieth century led to many invitations and appearances as a guest conductor, where he often conducted the premiere performances of some of his compositions, the majority of which were commissioned. his conducting activities took him to forty-eight states, three canadian provinces, japan, and australia; and for a number of years he was principal conductor of the arkansas symphony orchestra in the capital of little rock. at one time, his "double pyramid balance system" was a widely used pedagogical tool in the concert band world.