William Grant Still (1895-1978)
Hunterdon County Democrat
New Jersey
By Community Bulletin
Music by American composers, including the first symphony by
an African-American to be performed by a leading orchestra, will be
presented at a concert by the Hunterdon Symphony and the Hunterdon
Choral Union on Saturday evening, April 28.
The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Flemington at
Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Route 31. The program
will include Symphony No. 1, "Afro-American" by William Grant
Still, John Adams: The Voice Heard 'Round the World by Anthony
DiLorenzo, with Kyle Tinnes as narrator, Howard Hanson's Song of
Democracy, and an arrangement of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
The "Afro-American Symphony," the first of William Grant Still's five
symphonies, is the best-known of his works. His compositions combine
the elements of traditional African-American music with the tonal
harmonies and structures of traditional classical music, and the first
theme in this symphony's opening movement uses classic blues harmonies
and melodic progressions.
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