Robert Nathaniel Dett

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Robert Nathaniel Dett

Robert Nathaniel Dett (born October 11, 1882 in Drummondville , Ontario , † October 2, 1943 in Battle Creek , Michigan ) was an African-American composer and pianist from Canada .

Dett studied from 1903 to 1908 at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music , where he was the first African American to receive a Bachelor of Music degree . He then taught at Lane College in Jackson , Tennessee . Between 1913 and 1932 he worked in Hampton / Virginia , where he founded the School of Music , the Hampton Choral Union , the Musical Arts Society and the Hampton Institute Choir . From 1920 to 1921 he studied with Arthur Foote at Harvard University , in 1929 with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and then at the Eastman School of Music . He moved to Rochester / New York , where he also worked for the radio and in 1937 to Greensboro (North Carolina) , where he taught at Bennett College .

His adaptations of Negro Spirituals were best known . He also composed two cantatas , a piano suite, motets and songs .

Works

  • Magnolia , 1912
  • In the Bottoms , 1913
  • Music in the Mine , 1916
  • The Chariot Jubilee for tenor, choir and orchestra, 1921
  • Enchantment , 1922
  • The Cinnamon Grove , 1928

literature

  • Marguerite Pope: A brief biography of Dr. Robert Nathaniel Dett . Hampton Institute Press, Hampton, Virginia 1945, OCLC 28513131 .
  • Vivian Flagg McBrier: The life and works of Robert Nathaniel Dett . Catholic University of America 1967, Ann Arbor, Michigan 2002, OCLC 51171610 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ F. Michael Barnwell: Nathaniel Dett ( English, French ) In: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada . published by The Canadian Encyclopedia . January 31, 2014. Accessed September 3, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b SL:  Dett, R (obert) Nathaniel. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 5 (Covell - Dzurov). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2001, ISBN 3-7618-1115-2  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
  3. ↑ Christopher Brooks:  Dett, R (obert) Nathaniel. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
personal data
SURNAME Dett, Robert Nathaniel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian African-American composer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Drummondville , Quebec
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1943
Place of death Battle Creek , Michigan