Phoenix Wilson

Extra Credit Paragraphs

William Grant Still was an African-American classical performer and composer that was born
in Woodville, Mississippi on May 11th, 1895. His musical talent seemed to be passed down from
his father, who was the town bandmaster, but when he died when Still was three, the family
moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. There, Still learned to play violin, and would then pursue music
full time at Oberlin College until he was drafted into World War I. In his life, William Grant Still
became a formidable force in classical music, and after his move to New York City in the 1920s,
became an influential during the famous Harlem Renaissance with other figures such as
Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston. One of his most famous works include Symphony
No. 1 Afro American. Still was the first African-American to conduct, and to have a symphony
to be performed by a major orchestra, amongst many other firsts. He went on to receive many
honors, including the famous Guggenheim fellowship. He died in Los Angeles in 1978.
http://www.naxos.com/person/William_Grant_Still/24655.htm

YouTube Listening to William Grant Still - Violin Suite 1st mvt "African Dancer" by J. Patrick
Rafferty
The violinist J. Patrick Rafferty, of the University of Louisville School of Music, accompanied
by piano, performed Stills piece. I loved the imagery of the music, because I could really
envision a beautiful black woman gracing a stage. With grandiosity and vigor, African Dancer
sounds very much like the songs of the Harlem Renaissance, as it had an upbeat tempo that many
Blacks carried with them from the South, but had a refinement that characterized the Harlem
scene. My favorite part would probably be the staccato notes at around the three-minute mark, in

which the dancer is most likely en pointe, prancing through the music as she is in my mind. I
loved this piece!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V5LI8fYqRg

YouTube Listening to William Grant Still Symphony No.2 in G Minor, Song of a New Race
III. Moderately Fast.
The song was played in allegro, in G Minor, which made the song not unlike something that
could be played in a jazz hall. Performed by the Detroit Symphony in 2015, the song felt very
much like a period piece, in which the big band sound of the Harlem Renaissance was clearly
prevalent. The big brass instruments, as well as the flutes and drums very much harken back to
the grandeur of the time. I guess as titled, Still must have composed this song to accompany the
new mindset of Blacks during the Harlem Renaissance as they ushered in the era of the New
Negro. What keeps this piece somewhat classical, is the presence of the ever-constant violins
throughout the song that while other instruments flow throughout, they never fade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9jx4xDvyGo