Celebrating Black Composers

In honor of Black History Month, LexPhil Interim Artistic Advisor Kelly Corcoran has curated a list of works celebrating the profound contributions of Black composers to classical music. This playlist is only a sampling of the many amazing works by each of these composers, and there are many composers and works not represented on this playlist. Click here to listen to the full playlist on YouTube.

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William L. Dawson (1899-1990)
Negro Folk Symphony

George Walker (1922-2018)
Lyric for Strings

Eleanor Alberga (b. 1949)
Violin Concerto No. 1

Nkeiru Okoye (b. 1972)
When I Crossed That Line to Freedom

Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1949)
Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed

Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
The River Suite

Julia Perry (1924-1979)
Stabat Mater

Hannah Kendall (b. 1984)
Spark Catchers

William Grant Still (1895 -1978)
Danzas de Panama

Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson (1932 - 2004)
Grass

Florence Price (1887 - 1953)
The Oak

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799)
Symphony No. 1, Op. 11

Jonathan Bailey Holland (b. 1974)
Halcyon Sun

Valerie Coleman (b. 1970)
Seven O'Clock Shout

Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
Strum

Pamela Z (b. 1956)
The Unraveling

Tania Leon (b. 1943)
Ritmicas

Errollyn Wallen (b. 1958)
Mighty River

John Wesley Work Jr. (1871-1925)
Soliloquy for Tenor and Piano

David Baker (1931-2016)
Fantasy on Themes from "Masque of the Red Death" Ballet