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The Chamber Music of African-American Composers

continued onpage 72 The publication in 1971 of Eileen Southern's monumental book The Music ofBlack Americans symbolically heralded the beginning of what many hoped would be a new era. A thorough study written by a well-respected musicologist, Professor Southern's book was the first comprehensive history of the musical activitiesof African Americans. It contained a wealth of information and resources about African-American musical contributions and traditions, implying that within several years much of this new scholarship and repertoire would be included as part of traditional musical studies. More than twenty years have passed since Southern's study was published, yet the music history and theory courses at the majority of conservatories and university music schools contain only minimal repertoire, history, or other information related to the music of African Americans or, for that matter, American music in general. This lack of knowledge about African-American contributions to formal Western musical composition is reflected in the programs presented by chamber music ensembles on concert series in this country. Rarely are compositions by this group of composers performed. A series of concerts sponsored by the 1990 National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, featured the chamber music of several African-American composers. A reviewof the music performed at this event provides a representative sample of the quality and quantity of chamber music being written today by African Americans. The concert series is described here in an attempt to spark interest among string teachers and performers to explore this rich repertoire, as well as chamber music written byAfrican Americans in previous eras.