Lately, there has been a resurgence of interest in African Americans' contributions to the classical music genre.

Boston Conservatory is set to have a Florence Price Birthday Celebration Concert; the film Chevalier (released in 2022) grossed $4.2 million worldwide; and, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Orchestra Now will survey the "parallels between orchestral music and visual arts" by focusing on the works of William Grant Still in their Harlem Renaissance exhibit. While we’re excited to see this renewed interest, The Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music has invested in sourcing compositions from the most talented composers, no matter their background, since our founding at the Free Library of Philadelphia in 1929.

Read on to learn about two of the most well-known composers of African descent in our collection!

William Grant Still (1895–1978)

The Fleisher Collection has collected the works of William Grant Still since the 1930s. Still, who is widely considered the Dean of African American Music, was born in Woodville, Mississippi, in 1895. He was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas where his mother, a school teacher, and stepfather, a postal worker, nourished his love for music. Their encouragement was not in vain. Still proved to be a talented musician, mastering many instruments by the time he graduated high school. He went on to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and subsequently, carved out an illustrious career for himself as a composer. He even scored Hollywood hits including Stormy Weather and Lost Horizon!

The Fleisher Collection includes correspondence with Still dating back to the 1930s. At this time, although he was well-accomplished, he was an emerging mainstream composer. The Rochester Philharmonic premiered his composition Afro American Symphony for the first time in 1931.

 

In the above-pictured correspondence, Still responds to Fleisher curator F.H. Price regarding acquisition requests.
 

Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)

Nathaniel Dett was a composer of African descent from Niagara Falls, Canada. He was born to parents who were descendants of enslaved laborers held in bondage in the South who escaped to the North. Dett began his music studies at an early age by learning the piano. As a young man, he studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music becoming the first Black person to complete a Bachelor of Music degree in 1908. From there, he taught at several institutions including Lane College and Lincoln Institute. He continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and Northwestern. He even studied with a Fleisher Collection favorite, Nadia Boulanger!

In the above-pictured correspondence, Dett is responding to Edwin Fleisher’s initial request to acquire his Enchantment Suite composition.

The Fleisher Collection carries on this tradition today by continuing to add works that represent the full breadth of canonical composers in classical music. We have many works in the Fleisher Collection reflected in our catalogs. To discover more and experience the music in our collections check out our Black History Month Spotify Playlist and our Black History Month recommended materials list!