1 (Afro-American. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 - December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works for solo instruments. His mother, Carrie Lena Fambro, and his father, William Grant Still Sr, were both teachers. He also learned to play various instruments. His private studies in composition were with George Whitefield Chadwick in Boston and Edgard Varse in New York. However, as an art that draws from a primarily western European tradition, celebrating diversity is also one of classical musics greatest challenges to overcome. Ba11et : La Guiablesse (1927); Sahdji (1930); Lennox Avenue (1937); Miss Sallys Party (1940). : No. In the year 1955, William Grant Still Jr. conducted the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra. When he was three months old, William Jr., lost his father. Encyclopedia.com. Jazz also influenced classical composers in Europe, including Erik Satie and Igor Stravinsky. [16] With Henderson, he joined Henry Pace's Pace Phonograph Company (Black Swan). "Still, William Grant 1, "Afro-American" William Grant Still At-A-Glance Composed: 1930; 1969 Orchestration: flutes (3 = piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bells, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, gong, triangle, vibraphone), harp, celesta, banjo, & strings by some critics, Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski called him one of Americas greatest composers. William Grant Still was born on 11 May in 1895. His Symphony No. There were several firsts in William Grant Stills career. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Her second husband upheld the cultured atmosphere and took Still to classical vocal concerts. Why was he buried in a ship? 2, 1975, pp. He first studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, then under the conservative George Whitefield Chadwick at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and later under Edgard Varse during the latters most radical avant-garde period. We will write a custom essay on Music Appreciation Final Exam (57) specifically for you. Encyclopedia.com. Even today, black composers remain on the outskirts of the classical music establishment. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). . What genre is a clear influence on the composition of Stills Suite for Violin and Piano? D. radio and musical theater. Who was the first black woman to compose a symphony? The musical background of William Grant Still. Determined to develop a symphonic type of Negro music, he wrote an Afro-American Symphony (1930). His ballets include Sadhji (1930), Lenox Avenue (1937), and La Guiablesse (1927). American classical composers seeking a way to write music that was distinctly American took advantage of the new idiom of jazz as inspiration, including George Gershwin, Marc Blitzstein, and Leonard Bernstein. Why you need ballad jazz music in your life The history of ballad jazz, Read More Ballad Jazz Music: What It Is and Why You Need ItContinue. ." Your browser is not using Javascript. As Johann Strauss is to the waltz and John Philip Sousa is to the march, so is Scott Joplin to ragtime: its guru, chi, William Harvey and the Discovery of the Human Circulatory System, William Herschel and the Discovery of the Planet Uranus, William Howard Taft National Historic Site, http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sgo/exhibit/captions/caption1.html, https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/still-william-grant-1895-1978, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/william-grant-still, https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/still-william-grant-0, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/still-william-grant, https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/still-william-grant. Prolific and influential, many call William Grant Still the "Dean of African American composers" and it's not hard to see why. The fourth movement opens with a poignant melody showcasing some of Stills most beautiful orchestral writing. Encyclopedia.com. He was valedictorian. Bakers Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, Kay, Ulysses 19171995 He participated actively in the musical world, playing jazz and directing the Black Swan Phonograph Company. 23 Feb. 2023