George Walker | |
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Born | George Theophilus Walker June 27, 1922 |
Died | August 23, 2018 Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 96)
Alma mater | Oberlin College |
Occupation(s) | Composer, educator, autobiographer |
Years active | 1940s – 2012 |
Awards | Pulitzer Prize for Music (1996) |
George Theophilus Walker (June 27, 1922 – August 23, 2018) was an African-American composer, educator and autobiographer. He was the first to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.[1] He received the Pulitzer for his work Lilacs in 1996.[2][3]
Walker was born in Washington, D.C..[4] He studied at Oberlin College.
Walker taught music at Columbia University, Wayne State University, Wellesley College, Temple University, Washington University in St. Louis, Williams College and Montclair State University.[5]
In 1946, Walker composed his String Quartet no. 1. A string orchestra arrangement of the second movement of that work received its world premiere in a radio broadcast that was conducted by pianist Seymour Lipkin.
Walker was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999.[6] The following year, Walker was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry proclaimed June 17, 1997 as “George Walker Day”.[7] in the nation's capitol.
His autobiography, "Reminiscences of an American Composer and Pianist", was released in 2009 by Scarecrow Press.[8]
Walker was the father of two sons, violinist and composer Gregory T.S. Walker,[9] and playwright Ian Walker.
Walker died on August 23, 2018 from a fall at a hospital in Montclair, New Jersey at the age of 96.[10]
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