Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.
History
1900s
In the early 1930s, African-American conductor Dean Dixon (1915–1976) found that his pursuit of conducting engagements was stifled because of racial bias. As a result, he formed his own orchestra and choral society in 1931. In 1940, three conductors: African Americans Everett Lee and Dean Dixon, and Jewish American Benjamin Steinberg "...attempted to circumvent the institutionalised racism in American classical music by forming an orchestra of black musicians. But the project failed for financial reasons..." Steinberg established "...an orchestra of 36 black and 52 white musicians, when he formed the Symphony of the New World in 1964." It was the first fully racially integrated orchestra in the US, and held its premiere concert at Carnegie Hall on May 6, 1965.
In 1945, Everett Lee was the "first African American to conduct a major Broadway production." Leonard Bernstein asked Lee to conduct On the Town, which marked the "...first time a black conductor led an all-white production."[1] In 1953, Lee was the "...first black musician to conduct a white symphony orchestra in the south of the States...in Louisville, Kentucky."[1] In 1955, Lee was the "...first musician of colour to conduct a major opera company in the US with a performance of La Traviata at the New York City Opera." In 1955 William Grant Still conducted the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and became the first African American to conduct a major orchestra in the Deep South of the US. Henry Lewis (1932–1996) was the first African-American to lead a major symphony orchestra. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1972. Lewis found it hard to "...take on the role of an authoritarian conductor, because such a role was unacceptable for a black man" at this time.[2]
In the early 1950s, impresario Arthur Judson, head of Columbia Artists Management told Everett Lee that despite Lee's excellent reviews for conducting, a black conductor could not conduct a white orchestra in the US. Judson stated that black instrumentalists could play solo concertos with white orchestras, dance in white productions and sing in white productions, but leading a white orchestra was not feasible. In 1969, James Frazier won the Cantelli Prize in Italy, and in the 1970s went on to conduct several important orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, London's New Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Belarusian State Philharmonic and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.[3] Frazier, however, died young in 1981, just after being named conductor of the Bogota Symphony.[4]
Isaiah Jackson (born 1945) was the first black principal conductor of The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, in 1986, and became its music director 1987–90.
2000s
According to a 2004 article in the Guardian, "black conductors are rare in the classical music world and even in symphony orchestras it is unusual to see more than one or two black musicians." Canadian-born black conductor Kwamé Ryan, who studied music at Cambridge University and in Germany, made his professional conducting debut in 2004. Ryan says the "...message given to young, black people, particularly in North America, was... that you can be a star athlete; you can be a pop star...[but the] possibility for black children [to become a conductor] is not encouraged in schools or in the media."[5] Ryan states that young blacks have a lack of "...exposure [to black conductor role models] and it is a deficit that is passed on from generation to generation." Ryan said he has "...no optimism for the future."[5] In the UK, the research by Scott Caizley argues how through the systemic removal of quality music education in UK state schools, many young people are losing opportunities which is contributing to fewer BAME young people participating in classical music.[6]
Notable individuals
Classical music
Historically, the vast majority of classical music conductors have been Caucasian. However, there are a small number of notable conductors who are of African, Caribbean or African-American ancestry. Contemporary Black conductors still comprise a small percentage of the conductors working today and are often overlooked for positions as chief conductors of major orchestras:
- Charles-Richard Lambert (died 1862) was a black American musician, conductor and music educator. He and his family were noted for talent in music and gained international acclaim.[7] He worked as a music teacher and was a conductor for the Philharmonic Society, the first non-theatrical orchestra in New Orleans.[8] One of his notable students was Edmond Dédé.[9]
William Grant Still (1895–1978) was one of the first African Americans to conduct a major American symphony orchestra in the Deep South.
- William Grant Still (1895–1978) was one of the first African Americans to conduct a major American symphony orchestra in the Deep South, the first to have a symphony (his first symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television. As a classical composer, he wrote more than 150 compositions. After finishing college, he won a scholarship to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Between 1919 and 1921, he worked as an arranger for W. C. Handy's band. In the 1930s, he arranged music for many films. In 1955 he conducted the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and became the first African American to conduct a major orchestra in the Deep South.
- Leonard De Paur (1914–1998) attended the Juilliard School and Columbia University. He was a student of the composer Henry Cowell and the conductor Pierre Monteux.[10] From 1932 to 1936 he was the assistant conductor of the Hall Johnson Choir. He served as music director with the Federal Negro Theatre from 1936 until 1939 while collaborating with a young Orson Welles.[10][11] From 1947 to 1968 he conducted more than 2,000 performances with such groups as: the De Paur Infantry Chorus, the De Paur Opera Gala, the De Paur Gala and the De Paur Chorus[11] which toured in eighteen African nations for the United States Information Agency. He was also a regular conductor of Symphony of the New World and Opera South. In the realm of network television he was an arranger and conductor for such noted programs as the Bell Telephone Hour and the Hallmark Hall of Fame.[10] He is credited with establishing the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival and was the Director of Community Relations at Lincoln Center for 17 years.[12] He received honorary doctorates from Lewis And Clark and Morehouse College.[10]
- Everett Lee (1916–2022) "was [a]...violinist who led the orchestra in the original Broadway production of Carmen Jones and played the oboe on stage in the country club scene."[1] In 1945, he was the "first African American to conduct a major Broadway production." Leonard Bernstein asked Lee to conduct On the Town, which marked the "...first time a black conductor led an all-white production."[1] In 1946, Lee won a "Koussevitzky Music Foundation Award to conduct at Tanglewood."[1] In 1952, he was "appointed director of the opera department at Columbia University...and was also awarded a Fulbright scholarship that allowed him to travel to Europe.[1] In 1953, Lee was the "first black musician to conduct a white symphony orchestra in the south of the States...in Louisville, Kentucky."[1] In 1955, he was the "first musician of colour to conduct a major opera company in the US with a performance of La Traviata at the New York City Opera." He was appointed chief conductor of the Norrköping Symphony in Sweden in 1962. In 1976, he conducted the New York Philharmonic for the first time, and he performed a piece by African-American composer David Baker for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. In 1979, he became music director of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra in Colombia.[1]
- Isaiah Jackson (born 1945) was appointed for seven years as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, of which he has been named Conductor Emeritus.[17] He is the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area.[18] He graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1966. While there, he conducted Mozart's opera Così fan tutte, which helped him decide to pursue music as a career. Subsequently, he went to Stanford University and received his M.A. in music in 1969. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Fontainebleau, France, before going to the Juilliard School in New York City, from which he graduated D.M.A. in 1973.[citation needed] Jackson founded the Juilliard String Ensemble and was its first conductor 1970–71. He was associate or assistant conductor with the American Symphony Orchestra (1970–71) where he worked with Leopold Stokowski; the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (1971–73); and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (1973–87). He was appointed music director of the Flint Symphony Orchestra (Flint, Michigan) in 1982, the first black music director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in 1987 and principal conductor of The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, in 1986, and became its music director 1987–90. He was the first Black and the first American to occupy a chief position with the company.
- Calvin E. Simmons (1950–1982) was an American symphony orchestra conductor. He was one of the early African-American conductors of a major orchestra. By the age of 11, he was conducting the San Francisco Boys Chorus. After working as assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, Simmons became musical director of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra at the age of 28; he led the orchestra for four years. He was the first African American to be named conductor of a major U.S. symphony orchestra and a frequent guest conductor with some of the nation's major opera companies and orchestras (such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and others). In addition, he was the Music Director at the Ojai Music Festival in 1978. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera conducting Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.
- Dr Anne "Georgianne" Lundy (born 1954) was the first African-American woman to conduct the Houston Symphony Orchestra during the summer concerts of '89 and '90 at the Miller Outdoor Theatre.[19] Dr. Lundy received her Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977, Master of Music in Orchestra Conducting from the University of Houston in 1979, and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Houston's Moores School of Music in 2015. She founded the William Grant Still String Quartet in 1981 and the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra, an African-American community orchestra in 1983. The Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra and the William Grant Still String Quartet specialize in researching and performing the music of black composers. She is the musical director of the Community Music Center of Houston.
- Thomas Wilkins is Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He is also Artistic Advisor of Education and Community Engagement and the Germeshausen Youth and Family Concerts Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Wilkins earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Shenandoah Conservatory and a master's degree in orchestral conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music. His past appointments have included assistant director of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, resident director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Florida Orchestra, and music director of the Omaha Symphony, where he was appointed Music Director Laureate in June 2021.
- John McLaughlin Williams is the first African-American win a Grammy Award for orchestral conducting. He came to conducting after a career as a violinist that saw him as a member of the Houston Symphony, Concertmaster of the Virginia Symphony, and a freelance concertmaster, soloist, and violinist who performed regularly with the Boston Symphony and as Assistant Concertmaster of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He has conducted many orchestras in America, Ukraine, and Bulgaria, and is particularly known for his recording activity. Williams made many premiere recordings of American symphonic repertoire for the Naxos label's American Classics Series. He has had felicitous collaborations with such notable artists as Eliesha Nelson, Elmar Oliveira, Brian McKnight and The Winans. For Nelson's recording of The Complete Viola Works of Quincy Porter, Williams achieved the unique distinction of performing as conductor, violinist, pianist, and harpsichordist, and that recording subsequently received two Grammy nominations.
- André Raphel is an American conductor who has recently appeared as guest conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Born in Durham, North Carolina, Raphel earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami and a master's degree at Yale University, where he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller. He continued studies at the Curtis Institute of Music earning a diploma in conducting, and at the Juilliard School of Music where he earned an advanced certificate in orchestral conducting. Past appointments have included music director of the Norwalk Youth Symphony in 1990, assistant conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (1991–1994) working with Leonard Slatkin, assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1994–2000) working with Wolfgang Sawallisch, and assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic (2000–2002) working with Kurt Masur. He is currently Conductor Laureate of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (2018).
- Marlon Daniel is an American, Chicago born, conductor known as the foremost exponent of the music of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and a champion of works by composers of African descent. He conducted the Russian premiere of William Grant Still's iconic Afro-American Symphony[25] and has become well known for his performances of Pulitzer Prize winning composer George Walker's works, who was also one of his mentors.[26] A protégée of Jorma Panula in Finland and Jiří Bělohlávek in the Czech Republic, he also received advice from Sir Simon Rattle at the Berlin Philharmonic. He is laureate of the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Competition[27] and has performed in halls that include Bulgaria Concert Hall (Sofia), Carnegie Hall (New York), Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Rudolfinum (Prague), and Severance Hall (Cleveland).[28] He is Artistic and Music Director of the Festival International de Musique Saint-Georges, Music Director and Founder of Ensemble du Monde (chamber orchestra), Principal Guest Conductor of the Cuba National Symphony Orchestra, Guest Conductor of the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra, and Associate Conductor of the Florida Grand Opera.
- Jonathon Heyward is the first Black conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. His appointment was announced in July 2022 when Heyward was 29 years old and will be effective beginning with the orchestra's 2023-2024 season. Heyward grew up in South Carolina and studied conducting at the Boston Conservatory and the Royal Academy of Music. His past appointments include assistant conductor of the Hampstead Garden Opera Company, assistant conductor of The Hallé beginning in 2016, and chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie beginning in 2021.
Jazz and popular music
In jazz and popular music, the leader of an ensemble may also be called a bandleader.
Conductor Gerald Wilson leads a jazz
big band