Little red schoolhouse william grant still biography

William Grant Still () became the first African American composer to have a symphony performed by an American orchestra.!

William Grant Still ( – December 3, ) was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than compositions.

Biography.

William Grant Still () became the first African American composer to have a symphony performed by an American orchestra.

Often referred to as the dean of African-American composers, William Grant Still is noted in the history books for the series of “firsts” he achieved.

William Grant Still.

William Grant Still. Photograph by Carl Van Vechten, March 12, 1949.

William Grant Still (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions.

He was the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony of his own (his first symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television.

He is often referred to as "the dean" of African-American composers.

Still worked in a conventional tonal musical syntax and possessed a reactionary attitude towards the mathematical, formulaic music of the Second Viennese School.

He believed that the emphasis on the intellectualizing of composition belied the essence of musical expression stating that in music of this style "intellect usually took precedence over the emotions, and while intellect is necessary to m