Also American
Struggle & ResistanceAchievement & Excellence

October 1931

Zoom out
Achievement · music
William Grant Still Premieres Afro-American Symphony

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under Howard Hanson premiered Still's Symphony No. 1 in E-flat, making Still the first Black American to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. The work blended African American blues idioms with classical European form across four movements.

Events

  1. October 29, 1931
    William Grant Still Premieres Afro-American Symphony

    The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under Howard Hanson premiered Still's Symphony No. 1 in E-flat, making Still the first Black American to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. The work blended African American blues idioms with classical European form across four movements.

  2. October 29, 1931
    William Grant Still's "Afro-American Symphony"

    The first symphony by a Black composer performed by a major U.S. orchestra.