Hall, Frederick Douglass

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Hall, Frederick Douglass

Hall, Frederick Douglass, black American music educator and composer; b. Atlanta, Dec. 14, 1898; d. there, Dec. 28, 1982. He studied at Morehouse Coll. in Atlanta (B.A., 1921), Chicago Musical Coll. (B.Mus., 1924), Columbia Univ. Teachers Coll. (M.A., 1929; D.Mus. Ed., 1952), Royal Academy of Music in London (licentiate), and Univ. of London (1933–35). He taught at various institutions, including Dillard Univ. in New Orleans (1936-41; 1960-74), where he led a male quartet, and Ala. State Coll. in Montgomery (1941–55). His compositions include an oratorio, Deliverance (1938), a song-cycle, Afro-American Religious Work Songs (1952), and some 20 art songs. He also prepared choral arrangements of spirituals (6 vols., 1929-55).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire