When the first enslaved Africans landed on American shores in 1619, their musical traditions landed with them. William Grant Still composed eight operas, and the Music Division is lucky to own holograph scores for the first two: Blue Steel (call number ML96.S915 Case) and Troubled Island. Explore our premium spirits that are loved throughout the world. He was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera. Handy (1873-1958). The work, which includes a libretto by Langston Hughes and Verna Arvey, had its world premiere on March 31, 1949, at the New York City Opera making it the first opera composed by a Black composer to be produced by a major opera company in the United States. William Grant Still, known as “the Dean” of African-American composers, reached many important musical milestones during his career.

Much of his music reflects his African heritage. William Grant & Sons Global Brands is an innovative family-owned distiller and distributor. Why Is American Classical Music So White? Still was of Native American, African-American, and European ancestry. Blue Steel was completed in 1934, the year that Still moved to Los Angeles from New York City where he played and arranged for W.C. William Grant Still. By Tom Huizenga • Jun 5, 2020 . His first symphony – the “Afro-American” (1930) – was the most widely performed symphony composed by an American until the 1950s. William Grant Still. Education: Wilberforce University, 1911–16. STILL, WILLIAM GRANT: Appointed for creative work in musical composition, in the United States; tenure, twelve months from May 14, 1934. Still, William Grant, 1895–1978, American composer, b. Woodville, Miss. He studied music at Oberlin, with Chadwick at the New England Conservatory, and with Edgar Varèse. Four centuries later, the primacy of African American music is indisputable, not only in this country but in much of the world. Born May 11, 1895, at Woodville, Mississippi. Musical studies at the Oberlin conservatory, New England Conservatory, and with Edgar Varèse. William Grant Still’s “Troubled Island” is a historic opera.