I was born in New York City during the twilight years of the 78-rpm era, and was hooked on classical music by the age of three. My parents were so delighted that they gave me free use of their records and phonograph, which, of course, meant that their collection suffered quite a few casualties. I have often described myself as a child prodigy on the phonograph; from the start I experienced very strong emotional reactions to music, and felt compelled to verbalize my thoughts and feelings to anyone who would listen. So I feel that my destiny has always been to be a music critic. Although I took lessons on several instruments during my school years, and became fairly proficient, there was nothing extraordinary about my instrumental ability, nor did I particularly enjoy playing music as much as I did studying it, listening to it, thinking about it, and talking about it. During my teens I became voraciously interested in 20th-century music, and developed regular correspondences with many of my favorite composers.

When it became time to select a college and plan a career, the adults in my life persuaded me that a career in classical music was impractical, so I entered the City College of New York as a psychology major—that was another interest I had developed. Shortly before I graduated in 1969, I took a few music electives, which reintensified my passion to concentrate on music. Upon graduation I took a job with C. F. Peters, the music publisher, and tried to decide which path to pursue. Several catalytic events during the following year or two led me to enroll in the Manhattan School of Music with a major in theory and musicology. My experience there further intensified my commitment to become an advocate for contemporary (at the time) music that affected me profoundly but was being neglected by the “establishment.”

Upon earning a master’s degree in theory and musicology, I taught for a few years at Brooklyn College, CUNY. During the mid 1970s, I fell into an opportunity to manage the music division of a company that produced educational audiovisual materials for high schools and colleges. This was a wonderful time, during which I was able to channel many of my interests into marketable products. I also began producing a weekly radio series on 20th-century music that lasted for several years, and started writing music criticism, initially for the American Record Guide. Fanfare began publishing in 1977, and by the fifth issue I had joined the staff, where I have remained ever since.

During the late 1980s, the audiovisual company went out of business. Concluding that earning a living as an advocate of neglected 20th-century composers was not a likely prospect, I decided to return to school and undertake the training to become a psychotherapist, completing an additional MS and an MSW. Once I had accomplished this transition, during the early 1990s I began producing first recordings of music I thought merited attention. In 2000, friends persuaded me to initiate a Web site to document my activities; one in particular (God bless her) volunteered to design and launch Walter-Simmons.com. At about the same time I developed the idea for a series of books, to be called “Twentieth-Century Traditionalists.” The first volume, Voices in the Wilderness: Six American Neo-Romantic Composers, was published by Scarecrow Press in 2004. I am currently at work on the second volume. My professional life these days is split about evenly between my therapy and music careers, and I am pleased to report that all the activities in which I am currently involved give me great satisfaction.