William Grant Still and the Dilemmas of American Classical Music
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557541Bk Kelemen 3+3 4/8/09 2:55 PM Page 1
559603bk Still:557541bk Kelemen 3+3 4/8/09 2:55 PM Page 1 John Jeter Fort Smith Symphony John Jeter (‘Jetter’) has been the music director and conductor of the Fort Smith (John Jeter, Music Director) AMERICAN CLASSICS Symphony since 1997. He is also the recipient of the 2002 Helen M. Thompson Award presented by the American Symphony Orchestra League. This award is given First Violin Viola Mark Phillips Jack Jackson, II to one outstanding ‘early career’ music director in the United States every two years. Elizabeth Lyon, Darrel Barnes, Principal John Widder Jane Waters-Showalter Concertmaster Anitra Fay, Marlo Williams It is one of the few awards given to conductors in America. He is the recipient of the Trumpet Mayor’s Achievement Award for his services to the City of Fort Smith. John Jeter has Lori Fay, Assistant Principal Nicholas Barnaby Jesse Collett Samuel Hinson Angela Richards, Principal WILLIAM GRANT STILL guest conducted numerous orchestras including the Springfield Symphony, Karen Jeter, Ryan Gardner Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Arkansas Associate Concertmasters Kirsten Weingartner Weiss Kathy Murray Flute Penny Schimek Symphony Orchestra, North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony and Illinois Carol Harrison, Elizabeth Shuhan, Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5 Chamber Symphony among many others. He co-hosts two radio programmes and is involved in many radio and Densi Rushing, Mary Ann Saylor Trombone Erika C. Lawson Principal television projects concerning classical music. He received his formal education at the University of Hartford’s Hartt Er-Gene Kahng, Emmaline McLeod Brian Haapanen, Principal School of Music and Butler University’s Jordan College of Fine Arts. -
The Harlem Renaissance: a Handbook
.1,::! THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE: A HANDBOOK A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF ARTS IN HUMANITIES BY ELLA 0. WILLIAMS DEPARTMENT OF AFRO-AMERICAN STUDIES ATLANTA, GEORGIA JULY 1987 3 ABSTRACT HUMANITIES WILLIAMS, ELLA 0. M.A. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1957 THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE: A HANDBOOK Advisor: Professor Richard A. Long Dissertation dated July, 1987 The object of this study is to help instructors articulate and communicate the value of the arts created during the Harlem Renaissance. It focuses on earlier events such as W. E. B. Du Bois’ editorship of The Crisis and some follow-up of major discussions beyond the period. The handbook also investigates and compiles a large segment of scholarship devoted to the historical and cultural activities of the Harlem Renaissance (1910—1940). The study discusses the “New Negro” and the use of the term. The men who lived and wrote during the era identified themselves as intellectuals and called the rapid growth of literary talent the “Harlem Renaissance.” Alain Locke’s The New Negro (1925) and James Weldon Johnson’s Black Manhattan (1930) documented the activities of the intellectuals as they lived through the era and as they themselves were developing the history of Afro-American culture. Theatre, music and drama flourished, but in the fields of prose and poetry names such as Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Zora Neale Hurston typify the Harlem Renaissance movement. (C) 1987 Ella 0. Williams All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special recognition must be given to several individuals whose assistance was invaluable to the presentation of this study. -
[Sample Title Page]
ART SONGS OF WILLIAM GRANT STILL by Juliet Gilchrist Submitted to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music Indiana University May 2020 Accepted by the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music Doctoral Committee ______________________________________ Luke Gillespie, Research Director ______________________________________ Mary Ann Hart, Chair ______________________________________ Patricia Havranek ______________________________________ Marietta Simpson January 27, 2020 ii To my mom and dad, who have given me everything: teaching me about music, how to serve others, and, most importantly, eternal principles. Thank you for always being there. iii Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ iv List of Examples .............................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Childhood influences and upbringing ............................................................................ 5 Chapter 3: Still, -
The American Stravinsky
0/-*/&4637&: *ODPMMBCPSBUJPOXJUI6OHMVFJU XFIBWFTFUVQBTVSWFZ POMZUFORVFTUJPOT UP MFBSONPSFBCPVUIPXPQFOBDDFTTFCPPLTBSFEJTDPWFSFEBOEVTFE 8FSFBMMZWBMVFZPVSQBSUJDJQBUJPOQMFBTFUBLFQBSU $-*$,)&3& "OFMFDUSPOJDWFSTJPOPGUIJTCPPLJTGSFFMZBWBJMBCMF UIBOLTUP UIFTVQQPSUPGMJCSBSJFTXPSLJOHXJUI,OPXMFEHF6OMBUDIFE ,6JTBDPMMBCPSBUJWFJOJUJBUJWFEFTJHOFEUPNBLFIJHIRVBMJUZ CPPLT0QFO"DDFTTGPSUIFQVCMJDHPPE THE AMERICAN STRAVINSKY THE AMERICAN STRAVINSKY The Style and Aesthetics of Copland’s New American Music, the Early Works, 1921–1938 Gayle Murchison THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS :: ANN ARBOR TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHERS :: Beulah McQueen Murchison and Earnestine Arnette Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2012 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America ϱ Printed on acid-free paper 2015 2014 2013 2012 4321 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-472-09984-9 Publication of this book was supported by a grant from the H. Earle Johnson Fund of the Society for American Music. “Excellence in all endeavors” “Smile in the face of adversity . and never give up!” Acknowledgments Hoc opus, hic labor est. I stand on the shoulders of those who have come before. Over the past forty years family, friends, professors, teachers, colleagues, eminent scholars, students, and just plain folk have taught me much of what you read in these pages. And the Creator has given me the wherewithal to ex- ecute what is now before you. First, I could not have completed research without the assistance of the staff at various libraries. -
The Life and Solo Vocal Works of Margaret Allison Bonds (1913-1972) Alethea N
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 The Life and Solo Vocal Works of Margaret Allison Bonds (1913-1972) Alethea N. Kilgore Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC THE LIFE AND SOLO VOCAL WORKS OF MARGARET ALLISON BONDS (1913-1972) By ALETHEA N. KILGORE A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2013 Copyright © 2013 Alethea N. Kilgore All Rights Reserved Alethea N. Kilgore defended this treatise on September 20, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Wanda Brister Rachwal Professor Directing Treatise Matthew Shaftel University Representative Timothy Hoekman Committee Member Marcía Porter Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii This treatise is dedicated to the music and memory of Margaret Allison Bonds. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to acknowledge the faculty of the Florida State University College of Music, including the committee members who presided over this treatise: Dr. Wanda Brister Rachwal, Dr. Timothy Hoekman, Dr. Marcía Porter, and Dr. Matthew Shaftel. I would also like to thank Dr. Louise Toppin, Director of the Vocal Department of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for assisting me in this research by providing manuscripts of Bonds’s solo vocal works. She graciously invited me to serve as a lecturer and performer at A Symposium of Celebration: Margaret Allison Bonds (1913-1972) and the Women of Chicago on March 2-3, 2013. -
William Grant Still's Three Rhythmic Spirituals
William Grant Still’s Three Rhythmic Spirituals Jeff rey L. Webb William Grant Stil l, frequently referred only recently have major symphony orchestras to as “the Dean” of African American begun to program Still’s symphonic works such composers, was born in Woodville, Mis- as the Afro-American Symphony. sissippi, in 1895. Still was a prolifi c com- Still was equally adept at writing works for poser who wrote music for all idioms and the voice, both solo and choral. Along with was the fi rst African American to have his peers such as William L. Dawson (1899-1990), works performed by a major American Still was especially fond of composing and symphony orchestra; conduct a major arranging African American Spirituals and symphony orchestra in the United States wrote dozens of spiritual arrangements for (Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1936); and a variety of vocalists. While Dawson’s cho- selected to compose theme music for ral arrangements of spirituals are showcased the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. quite often, Still’s contributions are still not as Though Still broke down many barriers readily performed. Three Rhythmic Spirituals is a for African Americans in the world of collection of three separate pieces arranged by classical music, he still found it diffi cult to William Grant Still: “Lord, I Looked Down the fi nd groups to program his music. As a re- Road,” “Hard Trials,” and “Holy Spirit, Don’t sult, many of his compositions never had You Leave Me.” The following article provides noted performances until long after he a short biography of Still, a history of Three had written them. -
AMERICAN CLASSICS WILLIAM GRANT STILL Afro-American Symphony in Memoriam • Africa
559174bk 11/1/05 9:40 pm Page 8 das Werk sechsmal, bevor er es merkwürdigerweise zu- sprochene Ängste und lauernde Schrecken“ aus. Das rückzog und unpubliziert ließ. Eingangsthema spiegelt afrikanische Naturreligion und MERICAN LASSICS In Africa entwirft Still ein Bild der afrikanischen führt zu einem orientalischen Motiv, das sich auf Nord- A C Geschichte im Stile der exotisierenden Orchesterwerke afrika und muslimische Einflüsse bezieht. Still entfaltet von Rimsky-Korsakov. Der erste Satz Land of Peace hat im gesamten Werk eine ungewöhnliche Kreativität, um zwei Themen, die das Ländliche und das Spirituelle be- ein facettenreiches Bild des lebendigen afrikanischen schreiben. Der zweite Satz Land of Romance reflektiert Geistes zu vermitteln. Traurigkeit und führt am Ende zu leidenschaftlicher WILLIAM GRANT STILL Sehnsucht. Das Finale Land of Superstition drückt – mit David Ciucevich den Worten von Stills Frau Verna Arvey – „unausge- Deutsche Fassung: Thomas Theise Afro-American Symphony In Memoriam • Africa (Symphonic Poem) Fort Smith Symphony John Jeter 8.559174 8 559174bk 11/1/05 9:40 pm Page 2 William Grant Still (1895-1978) Verse von Paul Lawrence Dunbar hinzu, um die Stim- Shuffle Along auftrat. Als einander Zeitgenossen, die in Symphony No. 1 ‘Afro-American’ (1930) mung der einzelnen Sätze deutlich zu machen. Als tief denselben Kreisen verkehrten und wertschätzten, In Memoriam: The Colored Soldiers Who Died for Democracy (1943) • Africa (1930) religiöser Mensch widmete er dieses – wie auch jedes beeinflussten sie sich bewusst und -
HOWARD HANSON COLLECTION Accession No
HOWARD HANSON COLLECTION Accession no. 997.12 RUTH T. WATANABE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS SIBLEY MUSIC LIBRARY EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER The initial intellectual arrangement and physical arrangement of these papers imposed by personnel employed by the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music at the Eastman School of Music, ?1993-1997; revisions to same under the supervision of David Peter Coppen, 2017; description revised by David Peter Coppen, 2018-19. Howard Hanson, accession no. 997.12 Director Howard Hanson at his desk, ca. 1920s. Photograph from ESPA 2-14 (8x10). Howard Hanson at the piano, ca. 1960s. Photograph from Howard Hanson Collection (Accession no. 2005/3/25), Box 61, Folder 53. 2 Howard Hanson, accession no. 997.12 TABLE OF CONTENTS Description of the Collection . 5 Description of Series . 8 INVENTORY Series 1: Addresses, essays, articles, and publicity . 14 Series 2: Correspondence . 64 Sub-series A: Inside Eastman . 64 Sub-sub-series i: Offices, departments, and budget . 64 Sub-sub-series ii: Projects, endeavors, and initiatives , , 66 Sub-sub-series iii: Programmed events . 70 Sub-series B: Outside Eastman: endeavors and initiatives . 73 Sub-series C: University of Rochester River Campus . 83 Sub-sub-series i: Reports and correspondence . 83 Sub-sub-series ii: Endeavors and initiatives . 84 Sub-series D: Hanson’s original works . 85 Series 3: Manuscripts . 86 Sub-series A: Original compositions . 86 Sub-series B: Arrangements of music by other composers . 147 Sub-series C: Other writings . 150 Sub-sub-series i: Harmonic Materials of Modern Music . 150 Sub-sub-series ii: Sketches . 151 Sub-series D: Oversized manuscripts . -
Theologian, Musician, Author and Educator
Theologian, Musician, Author and Educator The gift collections of Dr. Jon Michael Spencer A Catalogue of Books, Microfilm, Journals and Vertical Files Donated to the L. Douglas Wilder Library Virginia Union University Compiled by Suzanne K. Stevenson, Special Collections Librarian Michelle A. Taylor, Technical Services Librarian Library Bibliography Series ©Spring 2002 1 PREFACE Since 1998, Dr. Jon Michael Spencer has donated more than 1,100 books from his personal research library as well as selected journals, microfilm of historic papers and research documentation to the L. Douglas Wilder Library at Virginia Union University. The subject areas reflect his specialties in the history and theology of African-American sacred and secular music, African history and slave culture, and African-American history and sociology. The collection includes a significant number of hymnals from various denominations. The former University of Richmond music and American studies professor is now a professor of religious studies at the University of South Carolina. He earned a music degree from Hampton University and completed graduate work in music composition as well as theology at Washington University and Duke Divinity School. Spencer donated this extensive collection to VUU for several reasons. Until the summer 2000, he was a resident of Richmond and VUU was the city’s African American university. As well, VUU has a School of Theology and Spencer has published extensively in the area of religion. Finally, his architect father, John H. Spencer, participated in the design of the Wilder library. It is in the elder Spencer’s name that Dr. Spencer has donated his collections. The books are housed in the library’s closed collections. -
20Th Anniversary Celebration
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ART SONG ALLIANCE CONFERENCE 20th Anniversary Celebration February 9 – 12, 2017 Claire Trevor School of the Arts – Music The University of California, Irvine In collaboration with Christ Our Redeemer AME Church 45 Tesla, Irvine, Rev. Mark E. Whitlock, Jr., Pastor Host Hotel Transportation provided by COR AME Church Radisson Hotel Newport Beach via DMCLS, Inc. a minority-owned VIP transportation co. 4545 MacArthur Boulevard Mathurin Daniel, CEO Newport Beach, CA 92660 37 Rincon Way, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 The African American Art Song Alliance artsongalliance.org Funding for this conference generously provided by: UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence Spirit Award Program; Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, 45 Tesla, Irvine, Rev. Mark E. Whitlock., Pastor; UCI Illuminations, the Chancellor’s Art & Culture Initiative; Hampsong Foundation; UC Consortium for Black Studies in California; COR Community Development Corporation (CORCDC); Chair’s Endowment, UCI Music Department; UCI African American Studies Department CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS COMPOSERS SINGERS (cont) H. Leslie Adams, Cleveland, OH Kisma Jordan Hunter, University of Michigan, Flint, MI Judith Baity, Los Angeles, CA Albert R. Lee, University of Nevada, Reno, NV Brittney Elizabeth Boykin, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA Marquita Lister, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD Maria Thompson Corley, Franklin & Marshall Coll., Lancaster, PA Leberta Lorál, Los Angeles, CA Marquez L.A. Garrett, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL Jennifer Lindsay, Long Beach, CA Adolphus C. Hailstork, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA Oral Moses, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA Lori Celeste Hicks, Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC Marlaina Owens, Los Angeles, CA Charles Ingram, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles, CA Miranda Paulos, University of California, Irvine, CA Roy Jennings, New York, NY Willis C. -
In and out of the Mainstream > Opera News > the Met Opera Guild
In and Out of the Mainstream > Opera News > The Met Opera ... http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2010/2/Fea... Features February 2010 — Vol. 74, No. 8 (http://www.operanews.org/Opera_News_Magazine/2010/2 /ITALIAN_MASTER__RICCARDO_MUTI_CONDUCTS_THE_MET_PREMIERE_OF_ATTILA.html) In and Out of the Mainstream BARRY SINGER looks at the careers of Samuel Barber and William Grant Still, two composers whose work reflected the ever-changing path of twentieth-century American music. William Grant Still and Samuel Barber Samuel Barber's debut opera, Vanessa, followed William Grant The essence of Still's Still's debut opera, Troubled Island, by less than a decade. Both were output resided in jazz and hard-won labors of love that each composer initiated without a the blues. Barber had commission and ultimately brought to fruition on the strength of his little use for either. own tenacity. Both operas were hits with their opening-night audiences - Vanessa at the Met, Troubled Island at New York City Opera's then-City Center home. Both, nonetheless, soon disappeared 1 of 8 1/9/12 12:28 PM In and Out of the Mainstream > Opera News > The Met Opera ... http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2010/2/Fea... from the active repertory. In the 1990s, Vanessa would be restored to a respected place in opera, a rebirth that Barber did not live to witness. For Still's Troubled Island, though, resurrection has never really come. As the centennial of Barber's birth approaches, it is intriguing to view him through the contrasting prism of William Grant Still. In many senses, no American composer of the twentieth century contrasts with Barber more. -
Works by WILLIAM GRANT STILL New World Records 80399 VIDEMUS
Works by WILLIAM GRANT STILL New World Records 80399 VIDEMUS William Grant Still (1895-1978) has often been termed the patriarchal figure in Black music and was the first Afro-American composer to secure extensive publication and significant performances. His works represent the culmination of musical aspirations of the Harlem Renaissance, in that they “elevated” folkloric materials. Such a concept, however, had been employed occasionally by earlier figures, including Harry T. Burleigh (1868-1949), Clarence Cameron White (1880-1960), R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943, New World NW 367), and Still’s Afro-British model and cultural hero, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912). Still was born in Woodville, Mississippi, and his early days were spent in Little Rock, Arkansas, where his mother moved after his father’s early death. His stepfather was a record collector, and those early opera discs and Still’s violin studies stimulated the youth’s interest in music. On graduation from high school, Still planned to study for a medical career, but his love of music was intensified at Wilberforce College in Ohio, and especially at Oberlin, where he heard a full orchestra for the first time. During this period, he worked in Memphis for W.C. Handy, subsequently joining him when Handy moved to New York City. In 1921 Hall Johnson recommended him as oboist for Ebie Blake’s Shuffle Along (NW 260) and, while touring in Boston with the show, Still secured composition lessons from George Whitfield Chadwick. After his return to New York, he studied with Edgard Varèse, although any avant-garde influence form this composer remains lost in Still’s earlier, withdrawn works.