William Perry was born in Elmira, New York. He began composing and conducting in his teenage years, producing a full-length musical at the age of 16. This led to musical study at Harvard University where his teachers included Paul Hindemith, Walter Piston and Randall Thompson. While there, Perry organised his own symphony orchestra and chorus, specializing in 18th-century music. During post-graduate military service in Germany, Perry wrote a musical theatre piece called Xanadu that toured Europe for more than five years.

When the job of musical director and silent film accompanist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York became available, Perry was selected for the post and over the next twelve years composed more than a hundred film scor...