William P. Rowan was born in San Diego, California on November 30, 1951. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University (B.A. and M.M.) and the University of Michigan (M.M.). He served as Director of Music at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing and liturgical consultant for the diocese of Lansing, and retired from music ministry in 2008. Rowan is the composer of many published hymn tunes, anthems, and organ works. His hymn settings have been sung at hymn festivals throughout the United States, Great Britain, and Europe, and are included in in most recent hymnals. Rowan is the author of Together Met, Together Bound, 1993. He is a founding member of the Huron Valley Chapter of The Hymn Society, has a wife, Juanita, and two children.