Edward Hammond Boatner (1898–1981) was an American composer who wrote many popular concert arrangements of Black American spirituals.

Biography

Boatner was educated at Western University in Quindaro, Kansas,

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

and received a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

from the Chicago Music College (Now the College of Performing Arts at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

). He also studied music privately. He began as a Concert singer with the encouragement and assistance of

Roland Hayes Roland Wiltse Hayes (June 3, 1887 – January 1, 1977) was an American lyric tenor and composer. Critics lauded his abilities and linguistic skills demonstrated with songs in French, German, and Italian. Hayes's predecessors as well-known Afr ...

— who performed many of Boatner's works on his concert programs—and choral director R. Nathaniel Dett. He also sang leading roles with the

National Negro Opera Company The National Negro Opera Company (1941–1962) was the first African-American opera company in the United States. Organized in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Mary Cardwell Dawson, the company was launched with a performance at t ...

. For the National Baptist Convention, he served as the director of music from 1925 to 1931. Boatner was a professor for Samuel Huston College (now

Huston–Tillotson University Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas. Established in 1875, Huston–Tillotson University was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the Unit ...

) and Wiley College in Marshall, TX. He then settled in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

conducting a studio and directed community and church choirs. This allowed him to concentrate more on composing. Boatner was the natural father of the great sax player Edward Hammond "Sonny Stitt" Boatner, Jr., but the boy - named Edward Boatner, Jr. - was given up for adoption early on to the Stitt family, growing up in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

Music

Notable arrangements

* "Oh, What a Beautiful City" * " Let Us Break Bread Together" * " Soon I Will Be Done" * "Trampling" * "I want Jesus to walk with me", for

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

Notable compositions

* "Freedom Suite" for chorus, narrator, and orchestra * "The Man from Nazareth", a "spiritual musical" * "Julius Sees Her", a musical comedy

References

# Southern, Eileen. ''The Music of Black Americans: A History''. W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition. # Brooks, Tim, ''Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919'', 470-473, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004.

External links

* Biography a
afrovoices.comEdward Boatner papers, 1941–1980
at th
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
at th
New York Public Library Manuscripts and Archives Division
*Gisele Glover, �
The Life and Career of Edward Boatner and Inventory of the Boatner Papers at the Schomburg Center.
�� American Music Research Center Journal, vol. 8–9 (1998), pp. 89–106. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boatner, Edward 1898 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers American male classical composers Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Roosevelt University alumni