Black History Month: Music Composer Edition

Over the month of February, I released a weekly Newsletter teaching about four incredible Black music composers from our history and sharing some of their music to both listen to and play. You may recognize some of these artists, and others might be new to you. Nonetheless, keep in mind that there are many more artists, composers, and musicians to learn about and discover. I hope this blog post encourages you to continue to give yourself the wonderment of learning about these wildly important people of our history.

Week one began with Thomas A. Dorsey. Thomas was born in Georgia in 1899 and was known as "Georgia Tom" during his career. He was drawn to the connection of Blues and church music and co-founded the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses--an organization dedicated to training musicians and singers from all over the United States. It still remains active to this day!

Thomas wrote over 3,000 compositions in his 94 years of life. A third of them were gospel songs. The first generation gospel singers including Roberta Martin and James Cleveland worked and trained under Dorsey. Thomas also collaborated with Ma Rainey--an extrememely popular Blues singer from the 20th century; often recognized as the "Mother of Blues". Recordings of both "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "Peace in the Valley" sold millions of copies in the early 1900s. "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" is one of my personal favorites, and here's a sweet little recording to listen to and some sheet music to try on your own too!

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We enjoyed Scott Joplin during week two of our Black History Month: Music Composer Edition. Scott was born in 1868 in Texas. He was known as the "King of Ragtime" and the most famous composer of Ragtime music (an early form of Jazz).

He composed more than 40 Ragtime pieces, a Ragtime ballet, and 2 operas. He taught piano lessons while beginning his writing career and flourished to popularity over his most well-known pieces "The Entertainer", "The Maple Leaf Rag", and "The Easy Winners". He passed away in 1917 which also ended the Ragtime era. His music gained renewed popularity in the 1970s after being used in the film The Sting. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his contributions to American music. Here is one of his famous pieces that is traditionally played on the piano, however I found an arrangement for violin!

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Week three was all about James Brown. Born in South Carolina in 1933 and known as the "Godfather of Soul". We can't possibly get through Black History Month without mentioning James Brown! He was the pioneer of Funk music and influenced many genres including R&B, Hip-hop, and Rock. His famous pieces include: "I Got You(I Feel Good)", "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", and "It's a Man's Man's World". (and many more!)

James was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Before music, he dreamed of being a professional athlete and became a very talented boxer and baseball player. A lot of his legendary dance moves and acts derived from his pro-wrestling theatrics; specifically his 'cape act'. His stage presence inspired greats like Michael Jackson and Prince who added some flair to their performances because of James's lead. James purchased the radio station WJBE and was one of the first Black artists to purchase and own a radio station. Many of his pieces are backed by brass instruments but I've put together two pieces of sheet music you can groove on your violin with HERE.

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Our final week showcased Florence Price. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1887. Florence's mother was a music teacher who influenced her music training and by 11 years old, Florence had published her first composition. At 14, she began studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. She composed over 300 pieces in her lifetime including symphonies, concertos, choral works, and chamber music. Florence and her family decided to leave the south after a series of racial incidents and moved north in the Great Migration to escape Jim Crow conditions. They ended up settling in Chicago, though Florence continued to face racial discriminations. She focused on her composition studies and enrolled in Conservatories and Music Colleges in the Chicago area. She was the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer AND the first to have a composition performed by a major orchestra (The Chicago Symphony Orchestra). She wrote pieces with Langston Hughes and Marian Anderson, and began to achieve national recognition in the early 1930s. Here is a recording of a beautifully delicate Violin Concerto she wrote and some sheet music to a lovely piano piece that I've written out for the violin to play the melody.

Did you enjoy learning about these music composers? Share it with friends, family, the stranger at the grocery store...honestly, anyone who can read. Aside from playing and teaching the violin, I love writing and sharing life lessons, stories, history, and tips or tricks aaaand wouldn't mind getting paid for sharing my experiences with the world. In all seriousness, thanks so much for reading! If even one person receives benefit from this post, I'm a happy little camper.

Share a comment, a question, or a story of your own--I'd love to hear from you. And stay tuned for the next post...arriving regularly to an electronic device near you!