William Grant Still, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

William Grant Still

American composer

Date of Birth: 11-May-1895

Place of Birth: Mississippi, United States

Date of Death: 03-Dec-1978

Profession: composer, conductor, film score composer, oboist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

William Grant Still (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of more than 150 works, including five symphonies and eight operas. Often referred to as "the Dean" of African-American composers, Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera.
Still is known most for his first symphony, the "Afro-American", which was until the 1950s the most widely performed symphony composed by an American.Born in Mississippi, he grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and was a student of George Whitefield Chadwick and later Edgard Varèse. Of note, Still was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony (his 1st 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.Due to his close association and collaboration with prominent Afro-American literary and cultural figures such as Alain Locke and Langston Hughes, William Grant Still is considered to be part of the Harlem Renaissance movement.



Alternative names	Carl Van Vetchen; Carl van Vechten
Description	American writer and photographer
Date of birth/death	17 June 1880	21 December 1964
Location of birth/death	Cedar Rapids	New York City
Authority control	: Q312851 VIAF: 5056030 ISNI: 0000 0001 1558 7789 ULAN: 500058409 LCCN: n78095475 NLA: 35576955 WorldCat