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William Grant Still was a pioneering composer and songwriter who achieved several firsts, including becoming the first African-American composer to conduct a major American symphony orchestra. Still achieved that feat on this day (July 23) in 1936.

Still was born on May 11, 1895 in Woodville, Miss., and raised primarily in Little Rock, Ark. At 15, he began violin lessons and graduated from high school the following year. Still entered Wilberforce University to study medicine per his mother’s wishes, but left the school before graduating. He then started studying music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and also studied at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Still began writing and composing band songs for notables such as Artie Shaw and W.C. Handy. Still’s prodigious output as a songwriter led to him being awarded back-to-back Guggenheim Fellowships in 1934 and 1935.

Prior to the fellowships, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra debuted Still’s “Afro-American Symphony,”  the first time that a symphony composed by an African-American was played by a major orchestra. In 1936, Still would become the first African-American to conduct a major American orchestra after he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

Still composed several operas and musical works rooted in African music with messages that spoke to the concerns of African-Americans at the time. One of Still’s celebrated ballets, “Lenox Avenue,” takes place in Harlem.

Still found more success on the West Coast after moving to Los Angeles in 1939. Ten years later, Still’s opera “Troubled Island,”  based on the 1791 Haitian slave revolt, became the first production put on by a major opera company to be written by an African-American.

Still’s long career and continued success earned him the moniker, “The Dean of African-American Composers,” and his work has been performed by major orchestra across the globe.

Even in death, Still continues to make history. His opera, “A Bayou Legend,” became the first to be written by an African-American to air on national television some three years after his passing.

Still was awarded several honorary degrees from various institutions, including Howard University, Pepperdine University, and Oberlin College, among others.

 

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