MARBL debuts William Levi Dawson website
William L. Dawson founded the Tuskegee Institute of Music in 1930 and led its choir in the next 25 years to international renown. His most famous work, the "Negro Folk Symphony," had its world premiere in 1934 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. Dawson's arrangements of spirituals now represent a part of the canon for choral societies throughout the world.
Emory's special collections and archives are home to Dawson's personal archive, and the Woodruff Library marked the official opening of the archive to scholars with an exhibition drawn from those materials. Through the generosity of the Ford Foundation, Emory is now able to share an online version of that exhibition with a world-wide audience.
Leading composers, scholars, performers and critics gathered at Emory University March 3-5, 2005, for an interdisciplinary discussion that sought to reshape our understanding of American music. The three-day series of panels and concerts celebrated the life and work of William Levi Dawson, one of the most prolific African-American composers and music educators of the early 20th century. All of these presentations are now available on this web site.
"Dawson's legacy extends beyond the musical arts," says Dwight Andrews, principle architect of the Dawson celebration and professor of music at Emory. "To appreciate the full impact of his legacy you have to understand his relationships with writers, performers and visual artists such as Ralph Ellison and Aaron Douglas. This celebration honored Dawson and provided the opportunity to examine the relationship between African-American identity and culture through the lens of his life and work.”
