Serenade

Description

Flute 1, Flute 2, Piccolo, Oboe 2, Clarinet in Bb 1, Clarinet in Bb 2, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Horn in F 1, Horn in F 2, Horn in F 3, Trumpet in C 1, Trumpet in C 2, Trombone 1, Trombone 2, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion 1, Glockenspiel, Crash Cymbals, Percussion 2, Suspended Cymbal, Harp, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, Contrabass — William Grant Still’s catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American” by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Still’s orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals.This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.”Still composed his Serenade for Orchestra in 1957 on a commission by the Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana. He later transcribed the work for a chamber ensemble of flute, clarinet, harp and strings. The piece reflects Still’s interest in American folk idioms, with conventional melodies and harmonies that nonetheless express a fresh and individual compositional voice. Prolific and influential, many call William Grant Still the "Dean of African American composers" and it’s not hard to see why. The first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony (his first 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, William Grant Still broke barriers. Still composed his Serenade for Orchestra in 1957 on a commission by the Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana. The piece reflects Still’s interest in American folk idioms, with conventional melodies and harmonies that nonetheless express a fresh and individual compositional voice.