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Artist Repertoire for the Modern String Player Beginner to Professional
Black Violin Links -- page 2
Black Violin Links -- page 2
Famous Black Violinists of the Early Twentieth Century
A LIST WITH INTERNET RESOURCES
Compiled by Gayle Dixon
Will Marion Cook (1869-1944)
Will Marion Cook studied violin at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, and with renowned violinist Josef Joachim in Germany. He made his debut in Washington DC in 1889. He was a student of Antonin Dvorák at the National Conservatory in NYC. Cook, an emotional man who was ill-equipped to deal with racism, did not pursue a career as a concert violinist for very long. He is remembered today as a leading composer and conductor in Black musical theatre during the vibrant period at the dawn of the 20th century.
A list of Cook's theatre credits appears in the Internet Broadway Database:
Born in Clarksville, Tennessee, White began violin studies at age eight, and performed one of his own compositions in recital when he was 15 years old. He attended the Oberlin Conservatory and Howard University. While spending the summer of 1906 in London, White studied with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. White had an extensive career as a teacher and composer. His compositions include a violin concerto, operas, ballets and dramatic works.
A biography of White may be read at African American Art Song Alliance:
There is a chapter on Clarence Cameron White in Tim Brooks' book, Lost Sounds:Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry 1890-1919, Chicago: Illinois University Press, 2005.
