“Classical Music’s Forgotten Past: Ann Arborite pays tribute to Black composers”

[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Concertos pour violon; Arion 68093 (1990)]

MetroParent.com is the online version of a magazine for the Detroit area. On January 31, 2008
it published an article by Patrick Dutcher:

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was an Afro-French composer whose prowess in fencing as well as music made him a celebrity in 18th-century France.

It’s a whole chapter of black history barely cracked open, but Ann Arborite Bill Zick is working to throw open the cover on people of color’s contributions to classical music. Zick is a retired administrative law judge and a former staff-training officer for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. And in his retirement, he’s found a new project: AfriClassical.com.

The Web site is a clearinghouse of information about people of African descent’s work in the world of classical music.
Some of the music on the site was famous in 19th-century France, or in the United Kingdom and North America in 1900, but is nearly unknown today. As Zick says on his Web site, many composers of African descent won acclaim while alive, only to be neglected later. Full Post

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