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William Dawson: An Introduction

in NYC (Photo 2). During the performance,
the audience broke with custom and applauded
between movements. At the conclusion of the
symphony, the standing ovation continued so
long that Stokowski ran off stage and dragged
Dawson back to acknowledge the response.
Marvelous acclaim by critics was followed by
an avalanche of cards, letters, and telegrams re-
ceived by Dawson from concertgoers and from
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many across the nation who listened via radio.
Stokowski later recorded the Negro Folk Sym-
phony with the American Symphony Orchestra.
Recently, there has been a resurgence in the
performance of Dawson’s only extended work.
The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
recorded the symphony in 2020, and the Bos-
ton Symphony performed Dawson’s orchestral
composition during concerts March 9-11, 2023.
And, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, of which Photo 2. Dawson and Stokowski peruse the score of Dawson’s only extended
Dawson was an alumnus, performed the mas- work, Negro Folk Symphony. Used with permission.
terpiece January 7-8, 2024.
Ever multitasking, while tidying-up the score of his Africa from December 1952 through February 1953
symphony Dawson commenced a long-distance court- to experience African music firsthand (Photo 3). While
ship of Cecile De Mae Nicholson, a faculty member at en route to Africa, he stopped in London to hear the
Morris Brown College in Atlanta. The couple original- Vienna Philharmonic, as well as in Paris to meet Na-
ly met in Kansas City, reconnected several years later, dia Boulanger and her pupil Howard Swanson. Once
and eventually married in September 1935. 12 in Africa and armed with the first portable reel-to-reel
During Dawson’s twenty-five years as director of tape recorder, Dawson recorded rhythmic and melodic
the Tuskegee Choir, the singers were heard over NBC, examples of traditional folk music, which still exist and
CBS, and ABC radio networks from coast to coast. have recently been digitized. Upon return to Tuskegee,
From 1952 to 1955 the Tuskegee Choir sang on televi- he revised portions of the Negro Folk Symphony to provide
sion several times, most notably the Ed Sullivan Show. rhythmic motives he believed more authentically repre-
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The choir sometimes used pictures taken in the Tuske- sented his “missing link” to Africa. Following a storied
gee Chapel as a part of advertisement for the choir’s career of conducting, teaching, and composing, Wil-
radio appearances. One iconic ad for a performance liam Dawson retired from Tuskegee Institute in 1955
via radio during a broadcast of the Edgar Bergen and after twenty-five years of service to his alma mater.
Charlie McCarthy Show from the Tower Theatre in
Atlanta, Georgia, in 1950 featured the choir seated
in the chancel in front of the stained-glass windows 1956-1989: Dawson in Retirement
that portrayed the history of African American music Dawson’s own thoughts and research on the sub-
through spirituals. While the original chapel burned in ject of Negro Folk Songs appeared in an article in the
1957, the stained-glass window was reconstructed from March 1955 issue of Etude. Titled, “Interpretation of
the original specifications and can be viewed today in the Religious Folk Songs of the American Negro,” the
the modern structure on campus. 13 essay encompasses the history and growth of this music
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Dawson traveled to West and discusses supposed oddities in the lyrics. Dawson

10 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2