Betania Recommends: Composers
Composer George Walker and conductor Benjamin Steinberg, 1968. Wikimedia Commons.
In recent years, there has been a gradual widening of the classical music repertoire thanks to organisations like the Chineke! Foundation to include works by composers previously overlooked because of their race or gender (read our interview with Chineke!’s Betania Johnny). Curious to expand your own musical horizon? Here are some of Betania’s favourite composers whom you might not have heard of before:
George Walker (1922-2018)
In 1996, American composer George Walker became the first black composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his work Lilacs for voice and orchestra. Born in Washington, D.C., Walker began to play the piano at age five, joined Oberlin Conservatory at fourteen, and later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music. A pianist, organist and composer, his music was influenced by different musical styles including jazz, folk songs and church hymns.
His work Lyric for Strings is his most performed work.
William Dawson (1899-1990)
American composer William Dawson was born in Alabama in 1899. In 1912, he ran away from home to study music full-time as a pre-college student at the Tuskegee Institute. To pay his tuition, he worked as music librarian and manual labourer in the school’s agricultural division. His Negro Folk Symphony premiered in 1934 at Carnegie Hall.
Betania performed the symphony on Chineke!’s summer tour: “This is just such an amazing work. I think he just perfectly weaves in these melodies influenced by African music with melodies that are influenced by the golden jazz age of America. It’s just such a great piece to play.”
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Florence Price was an American composer, pianist, organist and music teacher. She was the first African American woman to gain national recognition as composer. She graduated from high school aged fourteen and enrolled at Boston’s prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. The piano takes a central place in her compositions.
And here a living composer to take note of:
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
Born in New York City in 1981, Jessie Montgomery is a violinist, composer and educator. Jessie holds degrees from the Juilliard School and New York University and is currently a PhD Candidate in Music Composition at Princeton University. She is also a professor of violin and composition at The New School. Last year, Betania performed Jessie Montgomery’s work “Banner” at the Royal College of Music. Earlier, she had played her orchestral work “Records for a Vanishing City” with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Betania’s verdict: “She is an amazing composer, her work is absolutely amazing, I love her so much. She writes really well for strings.”