Commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the achievements of the renowned back tenor Ronald Hayes, the work’s four sections include the first three stanzas and the thirteenth stanza from Walt Whitman’s poem, When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom’d. This piece was premiered on Februby the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In 1996, Walker became the first Black composer to win a Pulitzer Prize in Music-for his 1995 composition Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra. Walker composed over 90 works that have been played by almost every major orchestra in the country and have won dozens of awards. From 1960 until he retired in 1991, Walker taught at Dalcroze School of Music, The New School for Social Research, Smith College, the University of Colorado, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Delaware, and Rutgers University where he was the Chairman of the Music Department. He later attended the American Academy in Fontainebleau, France where, like many American composers of his generation, he studied with the great composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Shortly after, Walker signed with the National Concert Artists, becoming the first black instrumentalist to be signed by a major management, and toured in seven European countries.Īfter teaching at Dillard University, Walker became the first black recipient of a doctoral degree from Eastman School of Music. 1 which includes Lyric for Strings, the piece we will be playing in Grand Panorama. In 1946, George Walker composed his String Quartet no. After winning the Philadelphia Youth Auditions, Walker played with the Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy, the Baltimore Symphony with Reginald Stewart, and Dean Dixon and his orchestra. Walker became the first black instrumentalist to perform in New York’s Town Hall when he was presented in a debut recital there. By age 18, Walker had already graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory and went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music where he graduated with Artist Diplomas in piano and composition, becoming the first black graduate of this renowned music school.
Walker died on Augfrom a fall at a hospital in Montclair, New Jersey at the age of 96. Walker was the father of two sons, violinist and composer Gregory T.S. His autobiography, "Reminiscences of an American Composer and Pianist", was released in 2009 by Scarecrow Press. Mayor Marion Barry proclaimed Jas “George Walker Day”. The following year, Walker was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Walker was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999. A string orchestra arrangement of the second movement of that work received its world premiere in a radio broadcast that was conducted by pianist Seymour Lipkin. In 1946, Walker composed his String Quartet no. Louis, Williams College and Montclair State University. Walker taught music at Columbia University, Wayne State University, Wellesley College, Temple University, Washington University in St. He received the Pulitzer for his work Lilacs in 1996. He was the first to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. George Theophilus Walker (J– August 23, 2018) was an African-American composer, educator and autobiographer.
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