William Grant Still in American Composers Unit

[Afro-American Symphony; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karl Kruger, conductor; Bridge 9086 (1999)]

In Crystal, Minnesota, Barb Jones is introducing students at St. Raphael's Catholic School to works of American composers, including the Afro-American Symphony of William Grant Still (1895-1978), who is profiled at AfriClassical.com: Listening Lessons: Mrs. Jones' Blog. Students in K-8 have been listening to several American Composers. Ask them about Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown,” or “Variations on America” by Charles Ives. Do they remember “Scherzo” from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story? How about “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson? William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony” was full of call and response, and we finished our unit by listening to one of the great female American composers - Amy Beach, who wrote “Piano Concerto.” Students in grades 5-8 had a listening test over these composers (hopefully they took good notes) as well as some general music theory that they reviewed in Jeopardy.

Works of American Composers
Afro-American Symphony in Listening Lessons
African American Composers
Studying William Grant Still
Teacher Includes Black Composer
Classical Music for Primary Students