William Levi Dawson : American music educator

Author/Creator:

Malone, Mark Hugh, 1952- author

Publication/Creation:

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2023

Format:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

William Levi Dawson : American music educator / Mark Hugh Malone ; with content design and pre-editing by Meagan Elizabeth Malone

Series Titles:

American made music series
American made music series.

Related Names

Additional Author/Creators:

Malone, Meagan Elizabeth, contributor

Subjects/Genre

Genre:

Biographies

Subjects:

Dawson, William L.(William Levi),1899-1990
Composers--Alabama--Biography
African American composers--Biography
Choral conductors--Alabama--Biography
African American choral conductors--Biography
Musicologists--Biography
Music teachers--Biography

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

Introduction -- Dawson's early years and education : 1899-1930 -- The development of the music school at Tuskegee Institute : 1930-55 -- The rise of the Tuskegee Choir to national prominence : 1933-55 -- Dawson the composer : 1921-90 -- Dawson the pedagogue : 1921-90 -- Appendix A : Choral and orchestral compositions and arrangements -- Appendix B : Awards and honors received by William Levi Dawson -- Appendix C : Significant letters, speeches, and interviews regarding the life of William Levi Dawson.

Bibliography:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-197) and index.

Summary:

"William Levi Dawson (1899-1990) overcame adversity and Jim Crow racism to become a nationally recognized composer, choral arranger, conductor, and professor of music. In William Levi Dawson: American Music Educator, Mark Hugh Malone tells the fascinating tale of Dawson's early life, quest for education, rise to success at the Tuskegee Institute, achievement of national notoriety as a composer, and retirement years spent conducting choirs throughout the US and world. From his days as a student at Tuskegee in the final years of Booker T. Washington's presidency, Dawson continually pursued education in music, despite racial barriers to college admission. Returning to Tuskegee later in life, he became director of the School of Music. Under his direction, the Tuskegee Choir achieved national recognition by singing at Radio City Music Hall, presenting concerts for Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and performing on nationwide radio and television broadcasts. Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, only the second extended musical work to be written by an African American, was premiered by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra in both Philadelphia and New York City. Dawson's arrangements of spirituals, the original folk music of African Americans enslaved in America during the antebellum period, quickly became highly sought-after choral works. This biographical account of Dawson's life is narrated with a generous sprinkling of his personal memories and photographs"--

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

viii, 203 pages, 18 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937766878202486

ISBN:

9781496844798
1496844793
9781496844804
1496844807

OCLC Number:

1354231555

Barcode:

010003539267