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CHORAL JOURNAL
EDITORIAL BOARD From the
Guest Editor
EDITOR
AMANDA BUMGARNER
ACDA National Office
405-232-8161 (ex. 205) Anniversaries are an opportune time for musi-
abumgarner@acda.org cal celebrations. Conductors, singers, instrumen-
talists, historians, and other musicians rally around
MANAGING EDITOR a common goal of honoring the musical contri-
butions of one individual to our craft. Aside from
RON GRANGER Marques L. A. Garrett the 125th anniversary of James Weldon Johnson’s
ACDA National Office poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which was to
405-232-8161
rgranger@acda.org honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at a school in Jacksonville, Florida,
2025 is the 150th anniversary year of the birth of Samuel Coleridge-Tay-
EDITORIAL BOARD lor.
Coleridge-Taylor was a celebrated composer during his short life of
SEAN MICHAEL BURTON just over thirty-seven years—only two years longer than Mozart lived. His
seanburtonmusic@gmail.com musical talents were recognized and nurtured as a child. He studied at
MARQUES L. A. GARRETT the Royal College of Music, where Charles Villiers Stanford became his
marques.garrett@unt.edu composition teacher while his classmates were other noted composers of
the twentieth century. His contributions to the choral canon include ac-
ZEBULON M. HIGHBEN cessible anthems with organ, fiery unaccompanied part-songs, and wildly
zebulon.highben@duke.edu expressive cantatas and oratorios. While his songs did not defy the musical
MICHAEL PORTER conventions of the day, their appeal can be seen in their uncanny way of
cmporter1750@gmail.com pleasing novice and professional musicians.
His domestic success is evident from the hundreds of thousands of
BRETT SCOTT
cornislb@ucmail.uc.edu scores sold during his life and the performances of his famous cantata
Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast that were rumored to have outnumbered Han-
WILLIAM SOUTHERLAND del’s Messiah some years. Musicians in the United States were also quite
william@williamsoutherland.com familiar with him and his work, resulting in three successful tours of the
DEBRA SPURGEON States. The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Choral Society of Washington, DC,
dspurg@olemiss.edu was formed to pay tribute to him as a pillar of Black excellence in classical
music. (Harry T. Burleigh was a soloist for one of their performances.)
Coleridge-Taylor even dedicated his Five Choral Ballads to the Society.
COLUMN EDITORS
In some of his writings about the successes of other Black compos-
MICAH BLAND ers, R. Nathaniel Dett mentioned Coleridge-Taylor among his American
mbland1613@gmail.com counterparts. Primarily, Coleridge-Taylor’s music was devoid of any idi-
omatic musical elements associated with African or African-inspired mu-
MATTHEW HOCH
mrh0032@auburn.edu sic. As an exception, the 1905 publication of 24 Negro Melodies for piano
was possibly an inspiration for Dett to use Black folk music in his own mu-
ELIZABETH HEARN sic like Coleridge-Taylor incorporated this music from both sides of the
ehearn@olemiss.edu Atlantic for this collection. Despite his fame, his ethnicity still prevented
GREGORY PYSH him from some of the pleasures afforded composers, such as the opportu-
gregory.m.pysh@gmail.com nity to sit anywhere in the hall for the premiere of one’s work.
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to curate articles and reviews
JENNIFER RODGERS for this focus issue and hope that you enjoy learning more about his music
rodgersj@iastate.edu
and program it not only in 2025 but for many other events in years to
ELIZABETH CASSIDY PARKER come.
eparker@temple.edu
4 CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2025 Volume 65 Number 9
