William Dawson was an American composer and choir director who lived from 1899 to 1990. At 13, he ran away from home to go to school at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He came back years later to lead its choir, and he made it famous. His arrangements of spirituals are sung by school and church choirs around the world. The best first piece for a child is his “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel.”
Quick facts
- Born: 1899, in Anniston, Alabama
- Died: 1990, in Montgomery, Alabama
- Era: Modern
- Played: trombone and other instruments
- Known for: the Negro Folk Symphony, and choral arrangements of spirituals
The life in short
Dawson was the oldest of seven children. His father had been enslaved and wanted his son to work, not study. William wanted school.
At 13, he sold his bicycle to pay for a train ticket and left for the Tuskegee Institute, a famous school for Black students. He paid his way by working on the school farm. He joined the band and the choir, and he learned nearly every instrument in the band room.
He finished at Tuskegee in 1921 and kept studying. He earned music degrees in Kansas City and in Chicago. At one school, he was not allowed to walk across the stage at his own graduation. His piece was played that day, and he listened from the balcony.
In Chicago, he played first trombone in a training orchestra and won prizes for his compositions.
In 1931, Tuskegee asked him to return and build a school of music. He led the Tuskegee choir for 25 years. In 1932, the choir sang at the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York. It sang for presidents and on national radio.
In 1934, the Philadelphia Orchestra and its conductor, Leopold Stokowski, gave the first performance of his Negro Folk Symphony. The audience cheered it.
In 1952, Dawson traveled to West Africa and listened to the music there. He came home and rewrote parts of his symphony with the rhythms he had heard.
After he retired from Tuskegee, he traveled for decades as a guest conductor of choirs.
What the music sounds like
Dawson’s choral arrangements are full of rhythm. Voices pass the tune from part to part, and the words bounce. He wrote out every detail of how a choir should sing a spiritual: where to swell, where to hush, and where to snap a word short.
His symphony uses a full orchestra in three movements. Its tunes come from spirituals, and a call on the horn ties the movements together. He called that horn call the “missing link,” for the link that was broken when people were taken from Africa.
Pieces to play first
“Ezekiel Saw the Wheel.” Fast and bright. The voices spin the word “wheel” around the choir.
“Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit.” A joyful spiritual with a strong, swinging beat.
“There Is a Balm in Gilead.” Slow and comforting. A solo voice sings the verses, and the choir answers.
Negro Folk Symphony, first movement. Listen for the horn call at the start. It comes back again and again.
Things to do together
Spin the wheel. Play “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel.” Each time the choir sings “wheel,” draw a circle in the air.
Call and answer. In “There Is a Balm in Gilead,” raise one hand when the solo voice sings and the other when the choir answers.
Catch the horn. Play the first five minutes of the symphony and count how many times the horn call returns.
Sing in a choir. Many children’s choirs sing Dawson’s arrangements. If your child sings in one, ask the director about them.
Running toward school
Most stories about running away are about getting out of school. Dawson ran away to get in. He was 13, he traveled alone, and he worked on a farm to pay for his lessons. It is a good story to tell a child who is tired of homework.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for William Dawson. Read about more composers in Black composers for kids and American composers for kids. For two more symphonies built on Black American music, read William Grant Still for kids and Florence Price for kids.
For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.