Peter Wilhousky
Peter Joseph Wilhousky was an American composer, music educator, and choral conductor of Rusyn descent. During his childhood he was part of the New York Russian Cathedral Boys Choir and gave a performance at the White House to President Woodrow Wilson. He was featured on several broadcasts of classical music with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, including the historic 1947 broadcast of Verdi's opera Otello.
In 1936, Wilhousky wrote a popular English version of the Ukrainian song "Shchedryk" by Mykola Leontovych and called it "Carol of the Bells". It has been performed and recorded by a wide variety of singers in different genres.
Wilhousky's 1944 choral arrangement of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Grammy-winning performance. It has become "arguably the most well-known choral arrangement of a hymn or anthem in the United States."