NJ.com: Hunterdon Symphony to Perform William Grant Still's "Afro-American Symphony" 7:30 PM April 28, Flemington, NJ

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.