'I decided to write my paper on Saint-Georges'; ' My instructor told me not to do it because he had never heard of him.'

[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concertos, Op. 5, Nos. 1 & 2; Op. 3, No. 1; Op. 8, No. 9; Bernard Thomas Chamber Orchestra; Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Violin; Arion 68093 (1990)]

A visitor to AfriClassical.com has written a Guest Book entry which highlights an obstacle to learning of African Heritage in Classical Music:Tuesday, 6/23/09, 8:36 PM “Thank you so much for this site. I took an Introduction to Music class this summer to renew my teachers license. We had to do a small research paper on a composer. I figured I would do one on a black man. I could not believe how much information was out there. I decided to write my paper on Saint Georges Le Chevalier. My instructor told me not to do it because he had never heard of him. I sent him a snippet of information I had been researching. Nevertheless he was floored. He actually stated I had taught him something. I am so fascinated now about other black composers. I have fallen in love with classical music all over again. Thank you so very much. Tonia, Little Rock.”

We can only wonder how many other Music instructors in U.S. higher education demonstrate such indifference to the existence of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) and other composers of African descent!