John Jeter, the conductor, has been the music director of the Fort Smith Symphony since 1997 and received the 2002 Helen M. Thompson Award for outstanding 'early career' music directors.
Recording & Production
This album features world premiere recordings of William Grant Still's Symphony No. 5 'Western Hemisphere' and Symphony No. 4 'Autochthonous'.
Composer Biography
William Grant Still, often called the 'dean of African-American composers,' was born in 1895 to a family of Negro, Indian, Spanish, Irish, and Scotch heritage.
Composer Biography
William Grant Still achieved many 'firsts' for African-Americans, including the first to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra and the first to conduct a major orchestra.
Composer Biography
William Grant Still participated actively in the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural awakening of African-Americans in the 1920s.
Composition History
William Grant Still's Symphony No. 5, 'Western Hemisphere,' was originally his Third Symphony before he revised it after composing his Fourth Symphony.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Still's most distinctive works are nationalistic, incorporating African-American forms like blues, spirituals, and jazz, and he inscribed each work to God, 'the source of all inspiration'.
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