Composer and pianist R. Nathaniel Dett was the first African-American to graduate from the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory in 1908.
(Library of Congress, Music Division)
WRTI
By Kevin Gordon
January 17, 2019
Described by The Washington Post as a pianist with "power, precison, and romantic abandon," Clipper Erickson will be our guest on Monday, January 21st at 12:10 PM playing works by R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), an African-Canadian/American composer whose music may be new to you. WRTI's Kevin Gordon is host.
On Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, listen to the LIVE broadcast on WRTI 90.1 or watch the performance on WRTI's Facebook page.
A champion of music that is not always well-known to the general public, Clipper Erickson's album, My Cup Runneth Over, The Complete Piano Music of R. Nathaniel Dett was recognized by Gramophone UK as Editor's Choice for January 2016.
Program for broadcast: Dance of Desire and Beyond the Dream from Dett’s 1922 “Enchantment Suite," Juba Dance from Dett's 1913 "In The Bottoms" Suite, and contemporary Philadelphia composer Donald Dumpson’s arrangement of "The Lord’s Prayer."
