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William Dawson: An Introduction

My association with William Dawson continued off Kansas City, Missouri. While continuing to teach at
and on through 1986 when I met him at various events Lincoln High School, Dawson did not forsake his per-
and appearances, specifically ACDA conferences. Fol- sonal quest to complete a bachelor’s degree in music.
lowing his death in 1990, I intended to publish my Seeking to enroll at the Horner Institute of Fine Arts
dissertation, but a teaching career of over forty years in Kansas City, the registrar informed him that the
always seemed to get in the way. However, after spend- school’s policy did not allow African Americans to at-
ing the past five years engaged in archival research, the tend classes. Dawson responded that he wished to study,
first volume dedicated solely to the accomplishments not attend classes, and as such, Dawson was allowed to
of this iconic American composer is finally in print as study alone with many faculty members, only after the
of March 2023. The following introduction to Wil- school had closed for the day. At commencement in
liam Dawson’s life and work comes primarily from that 1925, William Dawson was not allowed to sit with the
book, William Levi Dawson: American Music Educator (Uni- graduating class but was relegated to the balcony. Even
versity Press of Mississippi). when the attendees erupted in tumultuous applause fol-
lowing the performance of his composition, Trio in A for
violin, cello, and piano, Dawson was not allowed to stand
1899-1930: Birth and Life and acknowledge the acclaim. 5
Born in Anniston, Alabama, on September 26, In the spring of 1925, the Lincoln High School
1899, just three months prior to the start of the twen- Choir was invited to sing at the Music Supervisors Con-
tieth century, William Dawson entered a world that vention in Kansas City, and music publishers swarmed
immediately captured his ears, his attention, and his Dawson following the impressive performance of sev-
ambition. Dawson emulated the people in his world, eral of the spirituals he arranged. In late 1925, the H.
desiring to build skills to be a carpenter, a brakeman on T. FitzSimons Company of Chicago published Daw-
a train, a brick mason…nothing escaped his vision. In son’s first choral piece, King Jesus is A-Listening, which
my interviews with him, he spoke often of his desire to was quickly followed by, Talk About A Child That Do Love
“be something.” 3 Jesus, and My Lord, What A Mourning. 6
Mostly, he was enthralled with music and musicians, After resigning from Lincoln High School in 1925,
causing Dawson to realize he wanted to become a mu- Dawson left Kansas City to study with Adolph Weidig
sician. His search for not only a basic education but in pursuit of a master’s degree in composition from the
also a music education locally was quite a challenge. American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Prior
And, his father believed that hard work—not educa- to the completion of his degree, Dawson met pianist
tion—would enable his son to be successful in a world Cornella Lampton; they fell in love and soon married.
that segregated African Americans from white folks, Cornella, who was the first woman to earn a music de-
did not offer equal opportunities for those of his race, gree at Howard University, was in Chicago continuing
and subjected Black men and women to Jim Crow laws. her piano study with Percy Grainger. Tragically, after
When Dawson heard of the work of Booker T. a year of marriage, Cornella died from complications
Washington, who built an elementary and secondary following an appendectomy. Dawson set the lyrics of
school in Tuskegee, Alabama, he vowed to go there. the Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem, “Out in the
7
Indeed, at age thirteen, Dawson rode the train right Fields,” to music in memory of Cornella.
onto the Tuskegee campus, took advantage of the myr- With his master’s degree in hand, Dawson remained
iad music-making opportunities, and was mentored by in Chicago, a city that seemed to bustle with the far-
Washington, who took a strong interest in the young reaching effects of the Harlem Renaissance. Immersed
man. 4 in musical pursuits, he worked for two music publish-
Following graduation from Tuskegee in 1921, Daw- ers, conducted a church choir, continued study with
son accepted the position of band director at Kansas composers of note in the “Windy City,” played first
Vocational College in Topeka for one year, then took trombone in the Chicago Civic Orchestra, played
the job as music director at Lincoln High School in trombone with Charlie “Doc” Cook’s Doctors of Syn-

8 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2