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'William Grant Still' (May 11,1895 - December 3,1978) was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. He was the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony of his own (his first symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television. He is often referred to as "the dean" of African-American composers.

Contents

Life and career

Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"

Selected compositions

Further reading

External links

See also

Life and career

William Grant Still was born in Woodville, Mississippi. His parents were teachers and musicians. They were of mixed origin: African-American, Native American, Spanish and Anglo (Scots-Irish). His father died when William was a few months old and his mother took him to Little Rock, Arkansas where she taught high school English. He grew up in Little Rock and took violin lessons there.
He then attended Wilberforce University, founded as an African-American school, in Ohio. He conducted the university band, learned to play various instruments and started to compose and to do orchestrations. He also studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music on scholarship. He later studied at the New England Conservatory again on scholarship, and then with the ultra-modern composer, Edgard Varese.
Still initially composed in the modernist style but later merged musical aspects of his African-American heritage with traditional European classical forms to form a unique style. In 1931 his Symphony No. 1 was performed by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, making him the first African-American composer to receive such attention. In 1936 Still conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and became the first African-American to conduct a major American Orchestra. In 1949 his opera ''Troubled Island'' was performed by the New York City Opera and became the first opera by an African-American to be performed by a major company. In 1955 he conducted the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and became the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra in the Deep South. Still's works were also performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Orchestra. He was the first African-American to have an opera performed on national television. Additionally, he was the Recording Manager of the Black Swan Phonograph Company.
In the 1930s Still worked as an arranger of popular music, writing for Willard Robison's "Deep River Hour," and Paul Whiteman's "Old Gold Show," both popular NBC Radio broadcasts.
Still eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, where he arranged music for films. These included ''Pennies from Heaven'' (the 1936 film starring Bing Crosby and Madge Evans) and ''Lost Horizon'' (the 1937 film starring Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt and Sam Jaffe). For ''Lost Horizon'' he arranged the music of Dimitri Tiomkin. Still was also hired to arrange the music for the film ''Stormy Weather'' but left the assignment after a few weeks due to artistic disagreements.
William Grant Still received two Guggenheim Fellowships. He also was awarded honorary doctorates from Oberlin College, Wilberforce University, Howard University, Bates College, the University of Arkansas, Pepperdine University, the New England Conservatory of Music, the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and the University of Southern California.
Still married Verna Arvey, a journalist and concert pianist, in 1939. They remained together until he died of heart failure in Los Angeles, California in 1978.

Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"

The piece of music for which Still is best remembered today is his ''Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"''. (See the preceding link for a detailed discussion.) The symphony is in four movements. It combines themes from blues music with a symphonic dimension and meticulous orchestration. Still was influenced by the great jazz musicians of his day and, in particular, by W.C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues." The sound of the blues opens the symphony. Still and George Gershwin knew each other's music. There is a quote from Gershwin's ''I Got Rhythm'' in the third movement. ClassicsToday praised the symphony as "a "highly original, thought-provoking, and ultimately enjoyable creation."[1]

Selected compositions

★ ''Levee Land'' (1925)

★ ''From the Black Belt'' (1926)

★ ''Sahdji'' (1930)

★ ''Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"'' (1930)

★ ''Africa'' (1930)

★ Lenox Avenue (1937)

★ ''Seven Traceries'' (1939)

★ "And They Lynched him on a Tree" (1940)

★ ''Troubled Island'' Opera, produced 1949 (1937-39)

★ ''In Memoriam: The Colored Soldiers Who Died for Democracy'' (1943)

★ ''Suite for Violin & Piano'', including the movement later arranged for String Orchestra as ''Mother and Child'' (1943)

★ ''Danzas de Panama'' (Dances of Panama) Made up of three movements (1953)

★ ''The Little Song That Wanted to Be a Symphony'' (1954)

★ ''Little Red Schoolhouse'' (1957)

★ ''The American Scene'' (1957)

Further reading

★ Reef, Catherine. (2003). ''William Grant Still: African American Composer''. Morgan Reynolds. ISBN 1-931798-11-7

★ Smith, Catherine Parsons. (2000). ''William Grant Still: A Study in Contradictions.'' University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21543-5

★ Still, Verna Arvey. (1984). ''In One Lifetime''. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.

★ Still, Judith Anne, Michael J. Dabrishus, and Carolyn L. Quin. ''William Grant Still: A Bio-Bibliography.'' Greenwood Press, 1996.

★ Janower, David, "The Choral Works of William Grant Still," in ''The Choral Journal'', May 1995. http://www.albany.edu/music/docs.music/materials/Grant_Still.pdf

External links

★ William Grant Still Music, site with comprehensive information about him and his music

★ Interview, Transcript, African American Music Collection, University of Michigan

★ William Grant Still; Composer, Arranger, Conductor & Oboist Extensive info at AfriClassical.com

See also

★ Still's ''Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"''

★ Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, an earlier Anglo-African composer whom Still greatly admired

★ List of African American firsts