Columbus State Community College Plays Works of William Grant Still in Free Concert June 1

[William Grant Still (Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music, and is used with permission.]

The Columbus dispatch

Dispatch.com

Community-college ensembles play way to big stage

Thursday, May 27, 2010 6:34 AM

By Bill Mayr

FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

“After a decade's worth of effort, musicians from Columbus State Community College will get the chance to perform on a stage once filled by John Philip Sousa. The Tuesday concert at the Southern Theatre will serve as a rite of passage for the college's four performance groups - Chorus Columbus State, the Gospel Vocal Ensemble, the Woodwind Ensemble and the Concert Band.

“The concert will be the first for the groups in the theater. 'I've been working on this for 10 years, to get us into the Southern,' said Thomas Lloyd, who teaches music history at the college and directs the Concert Band and Woodwind Ensemble. Lloyd sought the Southern for a pair of reasons. 'It does lend us a degree of credibility,' he said. 'And it's a wonderful venue.' The four groups will perform some classics of band and choral music.”

“The band will also play a movement from Afro-American Symphony by William Grant Still, a mid-20th-century composer whose career included stints in Ohio.” “The Woodwind Ensemble will play Folk Suite No. 1 by Still. The Southern Theatre concert is a milestone for Columbus State, but the performance groups have built momentum in recent years. The gospel group, for example, had 18 public performances during winter quarter. It has appeared in prisons; at festivals; and at venues such as the Statehouse, the King Arts Complex and the Lincoln Theatre, Easton said.”

[William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory is found.]

Comment by email:

Bill, Thanks for the additional PR. Best wishes, Thomas Lloyd

Columbus State Concert Band Presents 'Music of William Grant Still' With Judith Anne Still, June 2

[Top: Afro-American Symphony; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karl Kruger, conductor; Bridge 9086 (1999) Bottom: The American Scene; Manhattan Chamber Orchestra; Margaret Astrup, soprano; Richard Auldon Clark, conductor; Newport Classic NCCD 85596 (1995)]

ColumbusDispatch.com

This Week In The Arts
Classical Music
Sunday, May 31, 2009
“The Columbus State Concert Band will perform "The Music of William Grant Still" at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Nestor Hall at Columbus State Community College, 550 E. Spring St. Judith Anne Still, daughter of the 20th-century black composer, will speak. Admission is free. Call 614-287-3993.”

CSCC.edu
About Columbus State...Arts Calendar
“The program will feature the music of African-American composer William Grant Still. The composer's daughter will be the featured guest and will discuss her father's life and music.  The band, under the direction of Thomas Lloyd, will perform William Grant Still's music including the "Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron" (Tuskegee Airmen), and excerpts from "The American Scene" and the Afro-American Symphony.”

Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma's entry on Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron reads:

“Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron, for winds (1945). Mission Viejo CA: WGS Music. Duration: 1:00. Première: 1945/VII/22; Hollywood Bowl; Los Angeles Philharmonic: Leopold Stokowski, conductor.” Dr. De Lerma says of William Grant still: “His materials are held by his daughter, Judith Anne Still, manager of William Grant Still Music, which moved to Flagstaff, Arizona.” William Grant Still Music offers a wide range of sheet music and recordings of the composer at: http://www.williamgrantstill.com [The complete Works List by Dr. De Lerma is found on the William Grant Still page at AfriClassical.com]