Anna Gardner Goodwin (October 1874 – 1959) was an American composer, mainly of religious music and marches.

Early life

Anna Gardner was born in Augusta, Georgia,Anna Gardner Goodwin Papers
Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago. the daughter of Daniel and Anna Gardner. Dan Gardner was remembered as "the March King of Augusta", a cornet player who ran a Sunday afternoon concert series for black Augustans. "To dance and watch my father blow his cornet with such enthusiasm created within me a desire to make music," Anna Gardner Goodwin later wrote.

Career

Goodwin wrote and taught music for much of her adult life. She assisted her husband in playing and leading music at

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, and accompanying the school's glee club. Her published compositions included "I Will Follow Jesus" (1906), "Do Not Touch the Wine Cup" (1906), "Jesus Don't Pass Me By" (1906), "Praise the Lord" (1906), "Tell the Story Everywhere" (1906), "Willing Workers" (1906), "Adalene" (1909), and "I'm Lonely Just for You" (1934). Her last composition, "Freedom to All March", was written to commemorate the 1951 race riot in Cicero, Illinois. Goodwin's "Cuba Libre March" (1898) was included in ''Black Women Composers: A Century of Piano Music, 1893-1990'' (1992). Goodwin was assistant house director of the Chicago YWCA in the 1930s.

Personal life and legacy

Anna Gardner married the Rev. George A. Goodwin, a professor of theology at

, in 1895. They had a son, George Jr., and daughters Janie, Anna, and Eunice. She was widowed when George died in 1914. In widowhood she lived with her widowed sister Janie Gardner Burruss (1876-1924) in Chicago. Anna Gardner Goodwin died in 1959, aged 85 years. Her papers are archived at the Center for Black Music Research,

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

. Her granddaughter Jane Alexander Robinson was one of the founders of the Michigan Association of Black Psychologists. Jane's sons David E. Robinson III and Richard Robinson both became professional musicians and composers. Anna Gardner Goodwin's great-grandson Richard Robinson became a full member of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

in 1989. In 2010, he was a Kresge Arts Fellow.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Anna Gardner 1874 births 1959 deaths African-American composers African-American women composers American women composers African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women