Editing William Grant Still

{{short description|American composer (1895–1978)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = William Grant Still
| image              = Maud Cuney Hare-William Grant Still 336.jpg
| caption            = Portrait by [[Maud Cuney Hare]], 1936
| birth_name         = William Grant Still Jr.
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1895|5|11}}
| birth_place        = [[Woodville, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1978|12|3|1895|5|11}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| education          = {{ubl|[[M.&nbsp;W. Gibbs High School]]|[[Wilberforce University]]|[[Oberlin Conservatory of Music]]}}
| occupation         = {{hlist|Composer|conductor}}
| spouse             = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Grace Bundy|October 4, 1915|February 6, 1939|end=div}}|{{Marriage|[[Verna Arvey]]|February 8, 1939}}}}
| children           = 6
| relatives          = [[Celeste Headlee]] (granddaughter)
| signature          = William Grant Still signature.png
}}

'''William Grant Still Jr.''' (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five [[Symphony|symphonies]], four ballets, nine operas, and more than thirty [[Choir|choral works]], [[art song]]s, [[chamber music]], and solo works. Born in Mississippi and raised in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]],<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" /> Still attended [[Wilberforce University]] and [[Oberlin Conservatory of Music]]<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> as a student of [[George Whitefield Chadwick]] and then as a student of [[Edgard Varèse]].<ref name=":1" /> Because of his close association and collaboration with prominent African-American literary and cultural figures, Still is considered to be part of the [[Harlem Renaissance]].

Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the [[New York City Opera]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shirely |first=Wayne |url=https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/sites/default/files/attached-files/0506-2003-013-00-000005.pdf |title=Two Aspects of Troubled Island |publisher=American Music Research Centre|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909135128/https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/sites/default/files/attached-files/0506-2003-013-00-000005.pdf |archive-date=September 9, 2023 }}</ref> He is known primarily for his first symphony, ''[[Afro-American Symphony]]'' (1930),<ref name="NYT-20210827">{{cite news|last=Thurman|first=Kira|author-link=Kira Thurman|title=When Europe Offered Black Composers an Ear – Spurned by institutions in America, artists were sometimes given more opportunities across the Atlantic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/arts/music/black-composers-europe.html |date=August 27, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 27, 2021 }}</ref> which, until 1950,{{Explain|reason=What happened then?|date=April 2025}} was the most widely performed symphony composed by an American.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biographical Sketch of William Grant Still |url=https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sgo/texts/borroff2.html |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=library.duke.edu}}</ref> Still often is referred to as the "Dean of Afro-American Composers". He was able to become a leading figure in the field of American classical music as the first African-American to conduct a major American [[symphony orchestra]], have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, have an opera performed by a major opera company, and have an opera performed on national television.<ref name="NYT-20210923">{{cite news |last=Woolfe |first=Zachary |title=A Black Composer Finally Arrives at the Metropolitan Opera |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/23/arts/music/terence-blanchard-met-opera.html |date=September 23, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 23, 2021 }}</ref>  The papers of Still and his second wife, the librettist and writer [[Verna Arvey]], are currently held by the University of Arkansas.<ref name="murchison" />

== Life ==
William Grant Still Jr. was born on May 11, 1895, in [[Woodville, Mississippi]].<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6ApDn5oJLkC |title=William Grant Still: A Bio-Bibliography |last1=Still |first1=Judith Anne |last2=Dabrishus |first2=Michael J. |last3=Quin |first3=Carolyn L. |date=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-25255-6 |location=Westport, Connecticut |oclc=65339854}}</ref>{{Rp|15}} He was the son of two teachers, [[Carrie Still Shepperson|Carrie Lena Fambro Still Shepperson]] (1872–1927) <ref name="whayne">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThTBc-E85agC&pg=PA262 |title=Arkansas Biography: A Collection of Notable Lives |last=Whayne |first=Jeannie M. |date=2000 |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |isbn=978-1-55728-587-4 |pages=262, 276–278 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/feb/24/fraternal-gathering-20190224/?features-profiles| title = Fraternal gathering| date = 24 February 2019}}</ref> and William Grant Still Sr.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|5}} (1871–1895). His father was a partner in a grocery store and performed as a local bandleader.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|5}} William Grant Still&nbsp;Sr. died when his infant son was three months old.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|5}}

Still's mother and he moved to [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], where she taught high school English.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|6}} In 1904,<ref name="whayne" /> She met and married Charles B. Shepperson, who nurtured the musical interests of his stepson William by taking him to operettas and buying [[RCA Red Seal Records|Red Seal]] recordings of classical music that the boy greatly enjoyed.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|6}} The two also attended a number of performances by musicians on tour.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Catherine Parson|url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft1h4nb0g0/|title=William Grant Still: A Study in Contradictions| publisher=University of California Press|year=2000|location=Berkeley, CA|pages=307}}</ref> His maternal grandmother, Anne Fambro,<ref name="whayne" /> sang African-American [[spirituals]] to him.<ref name="Smith 2008">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2fARj362kcC |title=William Grant Still |last=Smith |first=Catherine Parsons |date=2008 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-03322-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|6, 12}}

Still showed a great interest in music and started violin lessons in Little Rock at the age of 15. He taught himself to play the [[clarinet]], saxophone, [[oboe]], double bass, cello, and [[viola]].{{sfn|Still|Dabrishus|Quin|1996|pages=16–17}} At 16 years old, he was graduated as class valedictorian from [[M.&nbsp;W. Gibbs High School]] in Little Rock in 1911.<ref name="Smith 2008" />{{Rp|3}}

His mother wanted him to go to medical school, so Still pursued a bachelor of science degree program at [[Wilberforce University]], a [[historically black college]] in Ohio.<ref name=":6b">{{Britannica|566295}}</ref> Still became a member of [[Kappa Alpha Psi]] fraternity. He conducted the university band, learned to play various instruments, and started to compose and to perform orchestrations. He left Wilberforce without graduation.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|7}}

Using a small amount of money left to him by his father, he began studying at the [[Oberlin Conservatory of Music]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=William Grant Still |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft1h4nb0g0&chunk.id=d0e7414&toc.id=d0e7414&brand=ucpress|access-date=November 14, 2020 |website=publishing.cdlib.org}}</ref> Still worked for the school assisting the janitor and at a few small jobs outside of the school, but struggled financially.<ref name=":3" /> When Professor Lehmann asked him why he wasn't studying composition, Still replied that he simply couldn't afford to. When this became known, George Whitfield Andrews <ref name="GWAndrews">{{cite web| url= https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14614294.George_Whitfield_Andrews| title=George Whitfield Andrews| access-date=September 9, 2023}}</ref> taught composition to Still, without charge.<ref name=":3" /> He also was able to study privately with the modern French composer [[Edgard Varèse]] and the American composer [[George Whitefield Chadwick]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shJofk603zMC |title=Brass Music of Black Composers: A Bibliography |last=Horne |first=Aaron |date=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-29826-4 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|249}}<ref name="whayne" />

[[File:1262 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles.jpg|thumb|2012 photograph of the historically-designated,<br>''William Grant Still Residence'', South Victoria Avenue in Los Angeles, California]]
On October 4, 1915,<ref name="whayne" /> Still married Grace Bundy, whom he had met while they were both at Wilberforce.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|1,7}} They had a son, William III, and three daughters, Gail, June, and Caroline.<ref name="whayne" /> They separated in 1932 and divorced February 6, 1939.<ref name="whayne" />

Still had moved to Los Angeles after receiving his first fellowship in 1934.<ref name=":4" />

On February 8, 1939, he married pianist [[Verna Arvey]]. They drove to [[Tijuana]] for the ceremony because at the time, 'interracial' marriage was illegal in California.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|2}}<ref name="whayne" /> They had two children, a daughter, Judith Anne, and a son, Duncan.<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|2}}<ref name="whayne" /> [[Celeste Headlee]], a broadcast [[journalist]], an author, a classically-trained soprano, and daughter to Judith Anne, is Still's [[granddaughter]].

On December 1, 1976, Still's home at 1262 Victoria Avenue in [[Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles#Oxford Square|Oxford Square, Los Angeles]] was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #169.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result.cfm?community=Wilshire |title=Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) Report |website=Cityplanning.lacity.org |publisher=Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817090923/http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result.cfm?community=Wilshire |archive-date=August 17, 2011 |access-date=January 20, 2020}}</ref>

He died in Los Angeles in 1978.

== Career ==

In 1916, Still worked in Memphis for [[W. C. Handy|W.C. Handy]]'s band.<ref name="whayne" /> He then joined the United States Navy to serve in World War I in 1918, and eventually moved to [[Harlem]] after the war, where he continued to work for Handy.<ref name="whayne" /> During this time, Still was involved with many cultural figures of the Harlem Renaissance including the likes of [[Langston Hughes]], [[Alain LeRoy Locke|Alain Locke]], [[Arna Bontemps]], and [[Countee Cullen]].<ref name="murchison">{{Cite journal |last=Murchison |first=Gayle |date=1994 |title="Dean of Afro-American Composers" or "Harlem Renaissance Man": "The New Negro" and the Musical Poetics of William Grant Still |journal=The Arkansas Historical Quarterly |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=42–74 |doi=10.2307/40030871 |jstor=40030871 |issn=0004-1823}}</ref>

[[File:William Grant Still by Carl Van Vechten.jpg|thumb|William Grant Still 1949 portrait by [[Carl Van&nbsp;Vechten]]]]

He recorded with [[Fletcher Henderson]]'s Dance Orchestra in 1921,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCHJQ-Qc6zkC&pg=PA85 |title=Black Recording Artists, 1877-1926: An Annotated Discography |last=Gibbs |first=Craig Martin |date=2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7238-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|85}} and later played in the [[pit orchestra]] for [[Noble Sissle]] and [[Eubie Blake]]'s musical, ''[[Shuffle Along]]''<ref name="Still, Dabrishus & Quin" />{{Rp|4}} and another pit with [[Sophie Tucker]], [[Artie Shaw]], and [[Paul Whiteman]].<ref name=":5" /> Under Henderson, he joined [[Harry Pace|Henry Pace]]'s Pace Phonograph Company, known as [[Black Swan Records]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=steLXpuOONEC&pg=PT119 |title=Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events |last=Smith |first=Jessie Carney |date=December 1, 2012 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |isbn=978-1-57859-425-2}}</ref> Later in the 1920s, Still served as the arranger of ''[[Yamekraw]]'', a "Negro Rhapsody", composed by the [[Stride (music)|Harlem stride pianist]], [[James P. Johnson]].<ref>{{cite Grove|author=Willa Rouder|title=Johnson, James P(rice)|id=14409|year=2001}}</ref>

In the 1930s, Still worked as an arranger of popular music, composing works for popular [[NBC Radio]] broadcasts such as [[Willard Robison]]'s ''Deep River Hour'' and Paul Whiteman's ''Old Gold Show.''<ref name=":5" />

Still's first major orchestral composition, ''[[Afro-American Symphony|Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"]],'' was performed in 1931 by the [[Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra|Rochester Philharmonic]], conducted by [[Howard Hanson]].<ref name="whayne" /> It was the first time the complete score of a work by an African American was performed by a major orchestra.<ref name="whayne" /> By the end of World War II, the piece had been performed in orchestras located in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Berlin, Paris, and London.<ref name="whayne" /> The symphony was arguably the most popular of any composed by an American to that time.<ref name=":7">Borroff, Edith,  [http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sgo/texts/borroff2.html "Biographical Sketch of William Grant Still"]. Duke University Libraries.</ref> As a result of his close professional relationship with Hanson, many of Still's compositions were performed for the first time in Rochester.<ref name="whayne" />

In 1934, Still moved to Los Angeles after receiving his first [[Guggenheim Fellowship]],<ref name=":4" /> allowing him to start work on the first of his nine operas, ''[[Blue Steel (Still)|Blue Steel]]''.<ref>Southern, Eileen, and William Grant Still. "William Grant Still." The Black Perspective in Music, vol. 3, no. 2, 1975, pp. 172–173</ref> Two years later, Still conducted the [[Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra]] at the Hollywood Bowl, the first African American to conduct a major American orchestra in a performance of his own works.<ref name="loc">{{cite web |title=William Grant Still, 1895–1978 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200186213/ |website=The Library of Congress |access-date=April 19, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5" />

Still arranged music for films such as ''[[Pennies from Heaven (1936 film)|Pennies from Heaven]],'' starring [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Madge Evans]], and ''[[Lost Horizon (1937)|Lost Horizon]],'' starring [[Ronald Colman]], [[Jane Wyatt]] and [[Sam Jaffe]],.<ref name="whayne" />  For the latter, he arranged the music of [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]. Still was also hired to arrange music for the 1943 film ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]'', but left because "[[Twentieth-Century Fox]] 'degraded colored people.'"<ref name="whayne" />

For the [[1939 New York World's Fair]], Still composed ''Song of a City'' for the exhibit "Democracity,"<ref name="npr">{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1014435 |title=Music From The 1939 World's |website=NPR.org |language=en |access-date=January 20, 2020}}</ref> which played continuously during the fair's run.<ref name="npr" /> Despite writing music for the fair, he was unable to attend the fair without police protection except on "Negro Day".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://africlassical.blogspot.com/2012/01/a2schoolsorg-pri-co-host-celeste.html |title=A2Schools.org: PRI Co-Host Celeste Headlee, Conductor John McLaughlin Williams & Singer Daniel Washington in Ann Arbor Jan. 13 |date=January 16, 2012 |website=AfriClassical |access-date=January 20, 2020}}</ref>

A decade after its original composition, his opera ''[[Troubled Island]]'' about [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]] and Haiti, was performed in 1949 by the [[New York City Opera]].<ref name="whayne" /> It is the first opera by an American to be performed by the company.<ref name="shirley">Shirley, Wayne, [http://www.colorado.edu/amrc/sites/default/files/attached-files/0506-2003-013-00-000005.pdf "Two Aspects of ''Troubled Island''"], ''American Music Research Center Journal'', 2013.</ref> It also is the first opera by an African American to be performed by a major company.<ref name="loc" /> Still was, however, upset by the negative reviews it received.<ref name="whayne" />

Still's works were performed internationally by the [[Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra]], the [[London Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra]], and the [[BBC Orchestra]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eliza |date=2023-09-13 |title=William Grant Still: 13 Facts About the Great American Composer |url=https://interlude.hk/william-grant-still-thirteen-facts-about-the-great-american-composer/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Still was the first African American to conduct a major orchestra in the [[US Southern States|Deep South]], doing so in 1955, where he conducted the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra.<ref name="loc" />

He died in Los Angeles in 1978. Three years after his death, ''[[A Bayou Legend]]'' became the first opera by an African-American composer to be performed on national television.<ref name="mpr">{{Cite web |url=http://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2018/02/13/black-history-spotlight-william-grant-still |title=Black History Spotlight: William Grant Still |last=Oglesby |first=Meghann |website=www.classicalmpr.org |date=February 15, 2018 |access-date=January 20, 2020}}</ref>

== Legacy and honors ==
*Still received three [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]s in music composition (1934, 1935, 1938),<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/william-grant-still/ |title=William Grant Still |website=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation |language=en-US |access-date=January 7, 2020}}</ref> at least one [[Rosenwald fellowship|Rosenwald Fellowship]],<ref name=":5" /> and a [[Mu Phi Epsilon]] Citation of Merit.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.naxos.com/MainSite/BlurbsReviews/?itemcode=8.559867&catnum=559867&filetype=AboutThisRecording&language=English |title=Still: Summerlanc – Violin Suite – Pastorela – American Suite |date=May 2022 |last=Schiff |first=Zina |type=CD |publisher=Naxos |id=Naxos Catalog No. 8.559867}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Awards – Citation of Merit |url=https://www.muphiepsilon.org/awards---citation-of-merit |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=www.muphiepsilon.org}}</ref>
*In 1949, he received a citation for Outstanding Service to American Music from the National Association for American Composers and Conductors<ref name="whayne" />
*In 1976, his home in Los Angeles was designated a [[List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Wilshire and Westlake areas|Historic-Cultural Monument]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://historicplacesla.org/reports/74f22d62-3a1c-40be-8dad-8409d518333b |title=William Grant Still Residence |website=HistoricPlacesLA |publisher=Office of Historic Resources, Department of City Planning |access-date=January 19, 2020}}</ref>
* In 1977, the [[William Grant Still Arts Center]] opened in his honor.
*He was awarded honorary doctorates<ref name="whayne" /><ref name="DU-2021" /><ref name="UR-2021" /> from [[Oberlin College]], [[Wilberforce University]], [[Howard University]], [[Bates College]], the [[University of Arkansas]], [[Pepperdine University]], the [[New England Conservatory of Music]], the [[Peabody Conservatory]] in [[Baltimore]], and the [[University of Southern California]].<ref name="DU-2021">{{cite web |last=Borroff |first=Edith |title=Biographical Sketch of William Grant Still |url=https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sgo/texts/borroff2.html |date=2021|publisher=[[Duke University]]|access-date=September 12, 2021 }}</ref>{{sfn|Still|Dabrishus|Quin|1996|p={{page needed|date=October 2023}}}}<ref name="UR-2021">{{cite web |author=Staff  |title=African American Composer William Grant Still is Born |url=https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/227 |date=2021 |publisher=[[University of Richmond]]|access-date=September 13, 2021 }}</ref>
*He was posthumously awarded the 1982 [[Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters]] award for music composition for his opera ''A Bayou Legend''.<ref name="whayne" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjQJAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Mississippi+Institute%22+%22William+Grant+Still%22+%221982%22 |title=Twelve Negro spirituals |last1=Still |first1=William Grant |last2=Adams |first2=Wellington |date=1937 |publisher=Handy Brothers Music Co. |language=en |oclc=320893340}}</ref>{{Rp|6}}

== Selected compositions ==
Still composed almost 200 works, including nine operas,<ref name="Kirk">Kirk, Elise Kuhl (2001), [https://books.google.com/books?id=uIPDlKlchQ0C&pg=PA200 ''American Opera''], pp. 200–204. University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN|0252026233}}</ref>{{Rp|200}} five symphonies,<ref name="Kirk" />{{Rp|200}} four ballets,<ref name=":2" /> plus art songs, chamber music, and works for solo instruments.<ref name="whayne" /> He composed more than thirty choral works.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Griggs-Janower |first=David |date=1995 |title=The Choral Works of William Grant Still |journal=The Choral Journal |volume=35 |issue=10 |pages=41–44 |jstor=23550334 |issn=0009-5028}}</ref> Many of his works are believed to be lost.<ref name="whayne" />{{Rp|278}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Saint Louis Blues (song)|Saint Louis Blues]]'' (comp.[[W. C. Handy]]; arr. Still; 1916)<ref name="CH-2021">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Happy birthday, William Grant Still |url=https://celesteheadlee.com/happy-birthday-william-grant-still/ |date=2021 |work=Celeste Headlee |access-date=February 23, 2021 }}</ref><ref name="UC-2000a">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Catherine Parson |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft1h4nb0g0&chunk.id=d0e11020&toc.id=d0e10910&toc.depth=1&brand=ucpress&anchor.id=JD_Page_310#X |title=William Grant Still: A Study in Contradictions |publisher=University of California Press |year=2000 |location=Berkeley, California |page=310}}</ref>{{Rp|310}}
*''[[Hesitation Blues|Hesitating Blues]]'' (comp.[[W. C. Handy]]; arr. Still; 1916)<ref name="UC-2000a" /><ref name="WR-2019">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Hesitating Blues, The – W C Handy (arr. William Grant Still) |url=https://www.windrep.org/Hesitating_Blues,_The |date=2019 |publisher=The Wind Repertory Company|access-date=February 23, 2021 }}</ref>
*''From the Land of Dreams'' (1924)<ref name="whayne" /><ref name=":6" />{{Rp|4}}
*''[[Darker America (Still)|Darker America]]'' (1924)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''From the Journal of a Wanderer'' (1925)<ref name="UC-2000">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Catherine Parson |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft1h4nb0g0&chunk.id=d0e7760&toc.depth=100&toc.id=d0e7647&brand=ucpress |title=William Grant Still: A Study in Contradictions |publisher=University of California Press |year=2000 |location=Berkeley, California |page=224}}</ref>{{Rp|224}}
*''Levee Land'' (1925)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''From The Black Belt'' (1926)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''[[La Guiablesse (ballet)|La Guiablesse]]'' (1927)<ref name="whayne" />
*''[[Yamekraw]], a Negro Rhapsody'' (comp. [[James P. Johnson]]; arr. Still; 1928)
*''[[Sahdji (ballet)|Sahdji]]'' (1930)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|4}}
*''[[Africa (Still)|Africa]]'' (1930)<ref name="whayne" />
*  [[Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"]] (1930, revised in 1969)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*''A Deserted Plantation'' (1933)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|4}}
*''The Sorcerer'' (1933)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|4}}
*''Dismal Swamp'' (1933)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''[[Blue Steel (Still)|Blue Steel]]'' (1934)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|4}}
*''[[Kaintuck' (Still)|Kaintuck']]'' (1935)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
* [[Three Visions (Still)|''Three Visions'']] (1935)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
* [[Three Visions (Still)|''Summerland'']] (1935)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*''A Song A Dust'' (1936)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*  [[Symphony No. 2 (Still)|Symphony No. 2, "Song of A New Race"]] (1937)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}<ref name=":2" />
*''[[Lenox Avenue (Still)|Lenox Avenue]]'' (1937)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Song of A City'' (1938)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*''Seven Traceries'' (1939)<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RNcen10daIYC&pg=PA5 |title=I Dream a World: The Operas of William Grant Still |last=Soll |first=Beverly |date=2005 |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |isbn=978-1-55728-789-2 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|5}}
*''And They Lynched Him on A Tree'' (1940)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''[[Miss Sally's Party]]'' (1940)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|5}}
*''Can'tcha line 'em'', for orchestra (1940)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|5}}
*''Old California'' (1941)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''[[Troubled Island]]'', opera, produced 1949 (1937–39)<ref name="whayne" />
*''[[A Bayou Legend]]'', opera (1941)<ref name="whayne" />
*''Plain-Chant for America'' (1941)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Incantation and Dance'' (1941)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|5}}
*''A Southern Interlude'' (1942)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|5}}
*''In Memoriam: The Colored Soldiers Who Died for Democracy'' (1943)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Suite for Violin & Piano'' (1943)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|5}}
*''Festival Overture'' (1944)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''Poem for Orchestra'' (1944)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Bells'' (1944)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*  [[Symphony No. 5 (Still)|Symphony No. 5, "Western Hemisphere"]] (1945, revised 1970)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Still.html#36 |title=William Grant Still, African American Composer, Arranger & Oboist |website=chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com |access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref>
*''From The Delta'' (1945)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Wailing Woman'' (1946)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|5}}
*Archaic Ritual Suite (1946)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*  [[Symphony No. 4 (Still)|Symphony No. 4, "Autochthonous"]] (1947)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*''Danzas de Panama'' (1948)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''From A Lost Continent'' (1948)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''Wood Notes'' (1948)
*''[[Miniatures (Still)|Miniatures]]'' (1948)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|250}}
*''Songs of Separation'' (©1949)
*''Constaso'' (1950)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''To You, America'' (1951)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*''Grief'', originally titled as ''Weeping Angel'' (1953){{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
*''The Little Song That Wanted To Be A Symphony'' (1954)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''A Psalm for The Living'' (1954)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Rhapsody'' (1954)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''[[The American Scene (Still)|The American Scene]]'' (1957)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''Serenade'' (1957)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Ennanga'' (1958)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|6}}
*  [[Symphony No. 3 (Still)|Symphony No. 3, "The Sunday Symphony"]] (1958)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559676 |title=Still, W. S.: Symphonies Nos. 2, "Song of a New Race" and 3, "The Sunday Symphony" / Wood Notes (Fort Smith Symphony, Jeter) – 8.559676 |website=www.naxos.com |access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref>
*''Lyric Quartette'' (1960)<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|7}}
*''Patterns'' (1960)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''The Peaceful Land'' (1960)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Preludes'' (1962)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''[[Highway 1, USA (Still)|Highway 1, USA]]'' (1962)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}<ref name="NYT-20210528">{{cite news |last=Walls |first=Seth Colter |title=A Black Composer's Intense Opera Gets a Rare Staging – William Grant Still's one-act ''Highway 1, U.S.A.'' runs in St. Louis through June 17|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/arts/music/william-grant-still-opera-st-louis.html |date=May 28, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 30, 2021}}</ref>
*''Folk Suite No. 4'' (1963)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
*''Threnody: In Memory of Jan Sibelius'' (1965)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|253}}
*''Little Red School House'' (1967)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Little Folk Suite'' (1968)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|252}}
*''Choreographic Prelude'' (1970)<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|251}}
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
* [[Black conductors]]
* [[List of African-American composers]]
** [[William L. Dawson (composer)|William L. Dawson]]
** [[W. C. Handy]]
** [[James P. Johnson]]
** [[Florence Price]]
* [[List of jazz-influenced classical compositions]]
* [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor]], early [[Black British]] composer

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==

* Horne, Aaron. ''Woodwind Music of Black Composers'', Greenwood Press, 1990. {{ISBN|0-313272-65-4}}
* Roach, Hildred. ''Black American Music. Past and Present'', second edition, Krieger Publishing Company 1992. {{ISBN|0-894647-66-0}} 
* Sadie, Stanley; Hitchcock, H. Wiley. ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|The New Grove Dictionary of American Music]]'', Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1986. {{ISBN|0-943818-36-2}}

== Further reading ==

*Reef, Catherine (2003). ''William Grant Still:  African American Composer''. Morgan Reynolds. {{ISBN|1-931798-11-7}}
*Sewell, George A., and Margaret L. Dwight (1984). ''William Grant Still: America's Greatest Black Composer.'' Jackson:  University Press of Mississippi
*Southern, Eileen (1984). ''William Grant Still – Trailblazer''. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.
*Still, Verna Arvey (1984). ''In One Lifetime''. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.
*Still, Judith Anne (2006). ''Just Tell the Story''. The Master Player Library.
*Still, William Grant (2011). ''My Life My Words,'' a William Grant Still autobiography. The Master Player Library.

== External links ==
* [http://williamgrantstillmusic.com/ William Grant Still, Music], Official Site
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0830238/ William Grant Still, Music] at the [[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]] (IMDb)
* [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1775  William Grant Still, Bibliography], at the [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]]
* [https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft1h4nb0g0;brand=ucpress William Grant Still, ''A Study in Contradictions''], [[University of California]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCKN2SJghVE William Grant Still, Interview (1949; 30:49)], radio broadcast by [[Voice of America]]
<!---* [http://www.umich.edu/~afroammu/standifer/still.html William Grant Still], Interview, African American Music Collection, [[University of Michigan]]--->
* [http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Still.html William Grant Still, "Composer, Arranger, Conductor & Oboist".] Extensive information at AfriClassical.com
* [https://uark.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/1075 William Grant Still and Verna Arvey Papers], [[University of Arkansas]], Special Collections Department, Manuscript Collection MC 1125

{{William Grant Still}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Still, William Grant}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
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[[Category:Oberlin College alumni]]
[[Category:Orchestra leaders]]
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