SoNA
Symphony of Northwest Arkansas
Celebration in Motion: Beethoven 7 November 2, 2025 Walton Arts Center David Glover, Guest Conductor
Festive Overture (1944) William Grant Still b May 11, 1895 in Woodville, Mississippi d December 3, 1978 in Los Angeles, California
William Grant Still’s long career saw him active in an almost overwhelming variety of musical activities. He was the first Black composer to have a symphony
performed by a major orchestra and the first Black conductor to lead a major orchestra. He played the oboe in theater orchestras for Eubie Blake, Sophie Tucker, Artie Shaw, and Paul Whiteman. He arranged music for NBC radio shows. He wrote nine operas. He arranged music for film composers, including Dimitri Tiomkin for Frank Capra’s Lost Horizon. He was on the musical staff for the TV show Perry Mason. And he wrote prolifically for