Page 18 - CJSept24

William Dawson: An Interview with Mark Malone

Being a musical ambassador from the U.S. State of the music faculty. Dawson’s admission to Horner In-
Department and the performance by the Phila- stitute meant that he could receive one-on-one instruc-
delphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski tion from faculty only after the school closed for the
are highly impressive accomplishments. Did day. William Dawson was confronted by Muehlebach
you get a sense of how he ranked these achieve- Hotel officials for entering through the front door and
ments in surveyance of his career? was told to exit and enter through the back door.
Upon asking to audition for a position in the band
In terms of the ranking of the premiere of his sym- that performed in one of the parks in Kansas City,
phony and the three months he spent in Spain as a Dawson was told he would have to join the musician’s
music ambassador, each represents a different thrust of union. After he joined the union, the conductor still
Dawson’s musical output. I got the sense from Dawson hesitated. It was only after Dawson sat in the horn sec-
that each was considered important milestones to be tion during a rehearsal and demonstrated his perfor-
treasured. Yet, the impressive impact of the Negro Folk mance skills that the director relented and allowed him
Symphony that shared Dawson’s compositional creativ- to rehearse and perform with the band.
ity through multiple live performances by the orchestra Dawson was not allowed to sit with his graduating
considered the best in the world at that time (and via class due to his race and was remanded to the balcony,
radio from coast to coast) was a stunning achievement as if he were still under the aegis of an enslaver. Follow-
that was difficult to surpass. ing a commencement performance of his composition
Trio in A for violin, ‘cello, and piano, Dawson was not al-
Dawson, originally from Alabama, lived in lowed to stand and acknowledge the acclaim.
Kansas, Missouri, and Chicago. Did he remark In Chicago, Dawson had myriad opportunities but
whether these separate regions differed as it re- did encounter some difficulties. He worked for two mu-
lated to the Black experience, racism, or musi- sic publishers, conducted a church choir, played first
cal opportunities? trombone in the Chicago Civic Orchestra as the only
African American in the ensemble. He endured open
Following graduation from Tuskegee Institute in hostility from some performers, others did not speak
1921, Dawson accepted the position of band director to him, and there were those who completely ignored
at Kansas Vocational College in Topeka. While in the him. All of the white bands that auditioned in 1929 for
capital city, he sought to enroll in music study at Wash- a performance spot in the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair
burn College. The school registrar was reluctant to ad- had access to the same select group of instrumentalists,
mit a Black student and asked him to pass a special yet Dawson had to amass his own performers to con-
exam as a matriculation requirement. Yet, the dean of tend for the opportunity to present a concert at the Fair.
music at the college, Henry Stearns, allowed Dawson His sixty-piece band and a chorus of twenty voices won
to take composition classes and experiment with play- a spot to present a concert as the World’s Fair’s Black
ing stringed instruments. Dawson was allowed to join performing ensemble.
the musician’s union in Kansas.
While living in Kansas City, Missouri, Dawson en- How was Dawson’s work as an educator an out-
countered many challenges due to his race but expe- growth and continued legacy of his own educa-
rienced many opportunities to make music. Dawson tion at Tuskegee? Did he reference the signifi-
took the position of music director at Lincoln High cance of the influences of H. T. Burleigh and
School and established instrumental music programs others educators at Tuskegee?
in elementary schools. Seeking to enroll at the Horner
Institute of Fine Arts, the registrar quoted segregation First and foremost, the influence of Booker Talia-
laws to deny admission. Yet, Dawson’s avid interest ferro Washington made an impact on the life of young
in studying music permitted him to enter the school William Dawson, who embraced the Washingtonian
through the grace and compassion of Regina Hall, one philosophy as a driving force in his response to racial

16 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2