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CHORAL JOURNAL From the
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor

EDITOR
This Choral Journal focus issue on the life and work of
AMANDA BUMGARNER William Dawson has been over a year in the making,
ACDA National Office and I am excited to finally share it with you. Thank you
405-232-8161 (ex. 205)
abumgarner@acda.org to Gwynne Brown, James Kinchen, and Mark Malone,
who generously contributed their memories, insight,
and time to this project amidst their own busy sched-
MANAGING EDITOR
ules. I also thank Merrin Guice Guill for working with
RON GRANGER Amanda Bumgarner Mark on the interview article; those who sent in choral
ACDA National Office reviews; and our book reviews editor, Gregory Pysh, for
405-232-8161 the Dawson book review. Below is a note from Marques Garrett, who is on
rgranger@acda.org
the Choral Journal editorial board and initially suggested Dawson as a possible
focus issue to celebrate the 125th anniversary of his birth in 1899. Marques
EDITORIAL BOARD
was very helpful with content suggestions and curating the choral reviews.
SEAN MICHAEL BURTON On behalf of all of these authors, I hope you enjoy this special focus issue
seanburtonmusic@gmail.com and learn something you didn’t know before about William L. Dawson.

MARQUES L. A. GARRETT
marques.garrett@unt.edu From Marques L. A. Garrett
MICHAEL PORTER It was truly a pleasure to have served the Choral
cmporter1750@gmail.com Journal beyond my regular editorial board member
WILLIAM SOUTHERLAND duties by helping to curate content for this special is-
williamgsoutherland@gmail.com sue honoring the great musician William L. Dawson.
While he is often referenced as it relates to his Ne-
DEBRA SPURGEON gro spiritual arrangements, he was much more than
dspurg@olemiss.edu that. His early experiences with instrumental groups

WILLIAM WEINERT Marques L. A. Garrett and overall as an educator have impacted musicians
wweinert@esm.rochester.edu for a century. His resilience in the midst of racism to
become the first Black graduate of what is now the University of Missouri-
GISELLE WYERS Kansas City speaks volumes and is inspirational.
wyersg@uw.edu
When R. Nathaniel Dett discussed other Black composers of his day, he
frequently mentioned the work of Dawson. One of the earliest recordings
COLUMN EDITORS
of Dett’s oratorio, The Ordering of Moses, was conducted by Dawson with the
MICAH BLAND Talladega College Choir, the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, and John Work
mbland1613@gmail.com among other stellar soloists. Black conductors of their generation—especially
those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities—regularly conducted
MATTHEW HOCH
mrh0032@auburn.edu each other’s music when it may have fallen out of fashion in other circles.
The articles in this issue offer great detail into his life and music, while the
BRYAN E. NICHOLS choral reviews will hopefully introduce some of his songs to conductors who
bnichols@psu.edu may be unfamiliar with his work. Thankfully, Neil A. Kjos Music Company

GREGORY PYSH has kept a large amount of Dawson’s choral music in print. This allows new
gregory.m.pysh@gmail.com choirs to connect to this music, which not only helped to cement concert
spiritual arrangements into the choral canon but has excited and mesmerized
JENNIFER RODGERS audiences for decades. I hope more people remember the great work of this
rodgersj@iastate.edu influential man and are inspired to continue the scholarship of researching
LAURA WIEBE Dawson and those who succeeded him.
lwiebe@marin.edu

4 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2