William Grant Still’s “Troubled Island” is a historic opera. 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. While the opera {…}
William Grant Still was widely know as the “Dean of African American composers.” His work throughout the 1900s led to make major breakthroughs for the black community in the world of classical music. For this quiz, we ask you to take stock of Still’s career and his major accomplishments. As always, have fun!
(Credit: Carl Van Vechten) Born on May 11, 1895, William Grant Still would go on to become one of the most iconic African-American composers of all time. Still was born in Woodville Mississippi. His father William Grant Still Sr. was a teacher, partner in a grocery store, and performed as a local bandleader; unfortunately, he would pass away when his {…}