The Dean of African-American Composers.
William Grant Still was only three months old when his father died. His mother moved to Little Rock Arkansas, where he started playing violin as well as teaching himself oboe, clarinet, saxophone, viola, cello, and string bass. A high school valedictorian, he began medical studies at Wilberforce University, but the pull of music was too strong. Taking his modest inheritance, Still enrolled at Oberlin Conservatory, working his way through while being awarded composition lessons without charge.
After Navy service in World War I, Still worked for major figures in Harlem: W.C. Handy, Eubie Blake, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Langston Hughes. He started arranging and conducting for the Black Swan record label and for the radio networks, while still studying with composers George Whitefield Chadwick and Edgard Varese.
In 1931 his original works moved to the forefront: his first symphony, the “Afro-American,” was premiered and became hugely popular… the most-programmed American symphony until 1950. Its success led Still to Hollywood, where by day he was a stalwart of major studio film score arranging, and on his own time a composer of symphonies and operas.
He was a man of many firsts: the first African-American to conduct a major American orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television.
Still was a rarity among black composers, in that he was widely acknowledged in his lifetime. His works were performed frequently, he received at least 8 honorary doctorates, and he has continued to be referred to as… The Dean of African-American Composers.
William Grant Still… classically black.
