Thursday, September 27, 2007

ChoralBlog Celebrates Sept. 26 Birthday of William Levi Dawson, African American Composer

[Negro Folk Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, conductor; Chandos 9226 (1993)]

ChoralNet's ChoralBlog provides “Resources and communications for the global choral community”. It has linked to the AfriClassical birthday tribute to William Levi Dawson (1899-1990), the African American composer who was also a renowned choral director at Tuskegee Institute:

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wonderful Post about William Dawson
From AfriClassical, a celebration of William Dawson's birthday on September 26

From the blog post:

September 26 is the anniversary of the birth of a towering figure in African American choral music, William Levi Dawson, a composer, professor and choir director. He was born on September 26, 1899 in Anniston, Alabama. Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin has been writing about Black classical music for four decades. He has made his research entry on William Levi Dawson available to this Website:

He was born in Anniston Alabama and ran away from home at age 13 to enter Tuskegee Institute (at this time youngsters wishing a full pre-college education could only secure this on a college campus). While there he studied with Frank L. Drye and Alice Carter Simmons, played in the schools' instrumental ensembles, serve as music librarian, and toured for five years with the Institute Singers. His initial activity as composer began when he was 16.”









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