New Online Resource on Black History in Classical Music

A new online resource on blacks’ contributions to classical music has recently been launched at http://www.AfriClassical.com. The site is the project of William J. Zick, a white man who has retired from positions as an administrative law judge and as a training officer for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. He was assisted in the establishment of the Web site by Professor Dominique-Rene de Lerma of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The Web site includes biographical information on 52 people of African descent who have made an impact on the world of classical music. Included among the entries are Le Chevalier de Saint-George, a composer and violinist who played music with Marie-Antoinette, and George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, a violinist who had a sonata dedicated to him by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.