DAWSON, WILLIAM LEVI, 1899-1990. William Levi Dawson papers, 1903-1990 Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-6887 [email protected] Collection Stored Off-Site All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval. Descriptive Summary Creator: Dawson, William Levi, 1899-1990. Title: William Levi Dawson papers, 1903-1990 Call Number: Manuscript Collection No. 892 Extent: 94.375 linear feet (142 boxes), 2 oversized papers folders (OP), and AV Masters: 14.75 linear feet (11 boxes and LP1-9) Abstract: Papers of William Levi Dawson, African American composer, conductor, and educator from Anniston, Alabama, including correspondence, original scores of Dawson's works, personal and family papers, photographs, audio visual materials, and printed material. Language: Materials mostly in English. Administrative Information Restrictions on Access Special restrictions apply: Use copies have not been made for all of the audiovisual series at this time. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance for access to these materials. Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection. Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Printed or manuscript music in this collection that is still under copyright protection and is not in the Public Domain may not be photocopied or photographed. Researchers must provide written authorization from the copyright holder to request copies of these materials. Emory Libraries provides copies of its finding aids for use only in research and private study. Copies supplied may not be copied for others or otherwise distributed without prior consent of the holding repository. William Levi Dawson papers, 1903-1990 Manuscript Collection No. 892 Source Gift, 2001 Citation [after identification of item(s)], William Levi Dawson papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University. Processing Processed by Michelle Hite and Elizabeth Russey, October 20, 2005. This finding aid may include language that is offensive or harmful. Please refer to the Rose Library's harmful language statement for more information about why such language may appear and ongoing efforts to remediate racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic, euphemistic and other oppressive language. If you are concerned about language used in this finding aid, please contact us at [email protected]. Collection Description Biographical Note William Levi Dawson (1899-1990), African American composer, conductor, and educator, was born in Anniston, Alabama, the oldest of the seven children of George W. Dawson, an illiterate day laborer and former slave, and Eliza Starkey Dawson. At the age of thirteen, he ran away from home to attend Tuskegee Institute, earning tuition by working in the Agricultural Division for the next seven years. He was admitted to the Institute band and orchestra, under the direction of Frank L. Drye, and learned to play most of the instruments. He joined the Institute Choir, under Jennie Cheatham Lee, and traveled extensively with the Tuskegee Singers and with the Institute band and orchestra. Graduating in 1921, he studied composition and orchestration with Henry V. Stearns at Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas. He also spent four years in the study of theory and counterpoint with Regina G. Hall and Dr. Carl Busch at the Horner Institute of Fine Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, graduating in 1925 with a Bachelor of Music degree. In 1927 he received a Master of Music degree in composition from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. In 1921, Dawson became director of music at Kansas Vocational College in Topeka. The next year he became director of music at Lincoln High School, Kansas City, Missouri. While studying in Chicago, he became the director of one of the principal church choirs of that city and played first trombone in the Chicago Civic Orchestra. In 1927 he married Cornella Lampton, who died less than a year later. He would marry again on September 1, 1935 to Cecile Demae Nicholson in Atlanta, Georgia. In the fall of 1930, he was invited to return to Tuskegee Institute, to organize and conduct its School of Music. In addition to his administrative duties, Dawson conducted the Tuskegee Institute Choir. Under his leadership, the choir performed at the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York in 1932, sang for both Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was the first African American performing organization to appear at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., in 1946, breaking a long-standing race barrier. Despite the busy touring schedule of the Tuskegee Institute Choir, Dawson frequently traveled internationally. In 1952 he took a year- 2 William Levi Dawson papers, 1903-1990 Manuscript Collection No. 892 long sabbatical to West Africa, visiting Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Nigeria, Senegal, and Dahomey (now Benin). In 1956 the United States State Department invited Dawson to tour Spain to train local choirs in the African American spiritual tradition. That same year he retired from the Tuskegee Institute, after 25 years of leadership in the music department. A prolific composer and arranger, Dawson's original compositions include Forever Thine (1920), Out in the Fields (1930), and, most famously, the Negro Folk Symphony, premiered in 1934 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. During his tenure as the director of the Tuskegee Choir, Dawson also composed a number of arrangements of African American spirituals such as "King Jesus is a-Listening," "There Is a Balm in Gilead," and "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel." He also established his own music publishing business, printing his arrangements under the imprint Music Press. William Levi Dawson died May 2, 1990, in Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 90. Scope and Content Note The collection contains the personal papers of William Levi Dawson from 1903-1990. The papers include correspondence, original scores of Dawson's works; files relating to Dawson's music publishing; writings by Dawson; subject files; notebooks, address books; and scrapbooks; personal and family papers; photographs; audio visual materials; ephemera; and printed material. Arrangement Note Organized into twelve series: (1) Correspondence, (2) Scores, (3) Music publishing files, (4) Writings by Dawson, (5) Subject files, (6) Notebooks, address books, scrapbooks, (7) Other personal and family papers, (8) Photographs, (9) Printed material, (10) Ephemera, (11) Audio- visual materials, and (12) Collected material. 3 William Levi Dawson papers, 1903-1990 Manuscript Collection No. 892 Description of Series Series 1: Correspondence, 1921-1990 Subseries 1.1: General correspondence, 1921-1990 Subseries 1.2: Family correspondence, 1935-1990 Series 2: Scores, 1916-1980 Subseries 2.1: Negro Folk Symphony Subseries 2.2: Scores - Shorter Works Subseries 2.3: Scores - Written by others, Series 3: Music publishing files, 1925-1990 Series 4: Writings by Dawson, 1955-1959 Series 5: Subject files, 1933-1989 Series 6: Notebooks, address books, scrapbooks, 1918-1987 Series 7: Other personal and family papers, 1914-1990 Subseries 7.1: Personal and family papers Subseries 7.2: Certificates, awards, and diplomas Series 8: Photographs, circa 1900-1989 Series 9: Printed material, 1903-1990 Subseries 9.1: Writings about Dawson, 1930-1990 Subseries 9.2: Sheet music, 1897-1988 Subseries 9.2a: Music arranged/composed by Dawson, 1920-1988 Subseries 9.2b: Music of or composed by African Americans, 1897-1988 Subseries 9.2c: General sheet music Subseries 9.3: Programs, 1911-1990 Subseries 9.3a: Dawson or Tuskegee related programs, 1911-1990 Subseries 9.3b: Programs-general, 1921-1990 Subseries 9.4: Tuskegee Institute publications, 1917-1989 Subseries 9.5: Posters, 1949-1986 Subseries 9.6: Education-related, 1918-1931 Subseries 9.7: General, 1903-1989 Subseries 9.8: Miniature scores Series 10: Ephemera Series 11: Audiovisual material Subseries 11.1: Audio recordings,1915-1988 Subseries 11.2: Video recordings,1952-1954, 1984-1989 Series 12: Collected material 4 William Levi Dawson papers, 1903-1990 Manuscript Collection No. 892 Series 1 Correspondence, 1921-1990 Boxes 1 - 9 Scope and Content Note The series consists of the correspondence of William Levi Dawson from 1921 to 1990. The correspondence series contains the majority of Dawson's correspondence, including his letters from family, friends, admirers, and professional contacts. Although letters and telegrams make up the majority of the series, some correspondence may also include newspaper clippings, travel itineraries, photographs and copies of sheet music. Occasionally, Dawson's replies are clipped to the original letter. General and family correspondence form the two subseries within the Correspondence series. The general correspondence subseries contains the bulk of the material and documents Dawson's professional activities, including the premiere of the Negro Folk Symphony in 1934 and various guest conducting engagements. Letters from friends and other individuals are scattered throughout the subseries; prominent correspondents include Ralph Ellison, James Spady, and Leopold Stokowski. The general correspondence has some significant gaps, particularly from 1937-1960, during the years Dawson was most active professionally, and from 1970-1980. There is also very little correspondence