NPR.org: 'Remembering Pioneering American Conductor, Poet And Anime Inspiration James DePreist'

"The late American conductor James DePreist"

(NPR.org: Wendy Leher/courtesy of the artist)

James DePreist is featured at AfriClassical.com

NPR Music
Deceptive Cadence
From NPR Classical

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

February 08, 201312:55 PM

Pioneering American conductor, National Medal of Arts winner and poet James DePreist died early this morning in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 76 years old. His death, his manager told Deceptive Cadence, stemmed from complications following a heart attack he suffered nearly a year ago.

Born in Philadelphia in 1936, DePreist studied composition with Vincent Persichetti at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music before earning bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. The nephew of the pioneering contralto Marian Anderson, DePreist told NPR's Roy Hurst in 2005 that his aunt had provided an extraordinary model. "She knew that she was Marian Anderson," DePreist said, "but my aunt was simultaneously the most humble person I ever met in my life and the most powerful. And it was a combination of her not needing to strut her strength, because it was just a natural part of her. To the extent that anything has rubbed off, then I'm grateful."

Like his aunt, DePreist became a trailblazer. He became a widely recognized artist in an era in which African-American classical conductors were few and far between. And despite a significant physical disability, he became a favorite of orchestras and audiences around the globe.

DePreist was a survivor of polio, which he contracted on a 1962 State Department-sponsored tour to Thailand and which paralyzed both his legs permanently. Later, DePreist encountered another significant challenge when he developed kidney disease in the 1990s and had to go on dialysis — and remarkably, he received a new kidney from a devoted fan.

It was on that 1962 Asia tour, however, that DePreist's professional life took an unexpected turn. He had been brought by the State Department to play with his jazz quintet; on something of a lark, he was invited to conduct a rehearsal with the Bangkok Symphony. That rehearsal led to an epiphany, as DePreist told Hurst: "You feel entirely differently than you felt before, ever, and you say, 'This is something that I could really commit my life to. And not only could I, I would be really bummed if I couldn't."