William L. Dawson

African American composer, performer, and music educator William Levi Dawson (1899-1990) used the rich vitality of his musical heritage as a basis for all types of music, including arrangements of folk songs and original compositions. Dawson's membership in the band and orchestra at Tuskegee had been excellent professional preparation for serving as first trombonist with the Chicago Civic Orchestra from 1926 to 1930. In 1929 he won the Chicago Daily News contest for band directors, and in 1930 Wanamaker Contest prizes for the song "Jump Back, Honey, Jump Back" and the orchestral composition "Scherzo." In 1931 Dawson became director of the School of Music at Tuskegee. From 1932 to 1933 Dawson conducted the institute's 100-voice a cappella choir in a month's engagement at the opening of the International Music Hall of Radio City, and in concerts at Carnegie Hall, New York City, the White House, and another at Constitution Hall, both Washington, D.C., and in a series of national and international broadcasts. In 1934, under the sponsorship of the President of the United States and the State Department, the Tuskegee Choir made a concert tour of international and interracial good will to the British Isles, Europe, and the former U.S.S.R. Leading critics in America and abroad praised the choir highly. Although Dawson's choral arrangements were popular, he was best known for his Negro Folk Symphony, which had its world premiere by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski (1934). In this work the composer used melodic and rhythmic language borrowed from Negro spirituals, along with original material in the same idiom. The symphony was imaginative, dramatic, and colorfully orchestrated. In 1952 Dawson visited seven countries in West Africa to study indigenous African music. He later revised the Negro Folk Symphony, infusing it with a rhythmic foundation inspired by African influences. Dawson was guest conductor with the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra (1966), the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (1966), the Wayne State University (Michigan) Glee Club (1970), and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (1975). He was named to the Alabama Arts Hall of Fame in 1975, and received the Alumni Merit Award from Tuskegee Institute in 1983. He died on May 4, 1990. Enter your email address and zip code to be informed about local a cappella performances. Please select a specialty arrangements Americana Animal Songs Barbershop Beatles Black Voices Blues Christian Christmas Choral Contemporary Country Music Countries Cowboy Songs Disco! Disney Earth Songs Easter Farewell Songs Food Songs Freedom Songs Friendship Songs Girl Groups Girl Power! Glee Gospel Graduation Halloweens Hanukkah James Bond Lullabies Madrigals Manly Songs! Medleys Motown Musicals Native American Novelty Partner Songs Personality Pitch Perfect Patriotic Samba Sea Shanties Seasons Sheet Music Series Soldier Songs Songs of Shakespeare Songs of Sleep Songs about Singing Songs About States Songs in Spanish Standards Spirituals Train Songs TV & Movie Vocal Jazz Vocal Percussion World Wordless Lists of Songs Sing-Along Part-Predominant CDs