~~~~~Composer Biography~~~~~ Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was an Afro-British composer who wrote in a tonal, Romantic style. His output includes 82 published opuses, comprising chamber works; cantatas; orchestral works; songs; a violin concerto; and works for violin and piano, as well as solo piano. Coleridge-Taylor's father, Daniel Taylor, was a doctor from Sierra Leone; his ancestors were enslaved people in the Thirteen Colonies whom the British freed and repatriated to Africa. His mother, Alice Hare Martin, was a white Englishwoman. As the elder Taylor left England without knowing he had a son, Coleridge-Taylor grew up with his mother and her family in Croydon, just south of London. He started learning the violin from his grandfather on a mini-sized fiddle they had at home. Later, he took lessons from a local musician named Joseph Beckwith, and sang in choirs with a much-praised boy soprano voice. At the age of 15, Coleridge-Taylor entered the Royal College of Music as a violin student, with a minor in piano. Soon he switched his primary focus to composition, having had some music published already. His composition teacher was Charles Villiers Stanford, who also taught Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and a host of other notable English composers. (In this writer's opinion, Coleridge-Taylor belongs in that category as well.) Coleridge-Taylor met with considerable success, having been recognized by some of England’s most eminent composers. In 1898, the Three Choirs Festival wrote to the composer Edward Elgar to commission an orchestral work. Elgar declined the offer, but recommended that Coleridge-Taylor take up the offer, saying that he was "far away the cleverest fellow going amongst the young men [composers in England]." Coleridge-Taylor accepted it and composed his Ballade for Orchestra, op. 33. That same year, he completed what would become his most famous work, the spirited cantata Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, with text from Longfellow's epic poem “The Song of Hiawatha." The premiere was attended by another famous composer - Sir Arthur Sullivan, who wrote in his diary, "Much impressed by the lad's genius. He [Coleridge-Taylor] is a composer, not a music-maker." Around then, Coleridge-Taylor also began to write music influenced by his African identity. He corresponded with African-Americans in the United States, including members of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Society, a choral society in Washington D.C. named after him. W.E.B. DuBois, the famous writer on African-American social issues and civil rights, commended him as well. Coleridge-Taylor toured the United States twice and met President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House - a rare honor, especially given the deep divide between Black and White Americans. Back in England, Coleridge-Taylor’s works would be performed in some of the country’s grandest venues, including the Queen's Hall and Royal Albert Hall. He continued to compose prolifically for various combinations of instruments, including piano solo (see his 24 Negro Melodies op. 59, which are settings of African songs and African-American spirituals); full orchestra (see his Symphonic Variations on an African Theme [the spiritual “I’m Troubled in Mind,” op. 63); and SATB (see his part-song Summer Is Gone, published in 1910 without opus number). Rather unjustly, Coleridge-Taylor's renown and prolific output did not grant him financial stability. He did not receive royalties for many of his works, including Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, which would have yielded a considerable fortune. A main source of income came from his post as conductor of the Croydon Conservatoire's orchestra. He also traveled throughout England as a conductor and judge at music festivals. Coleridge-Taylor found little time for rest, and this may have led to his untimely death at the age of 37 from pneumonia, not long after he revised his thoroughly striking Violin Concerto. With his wife and fellow RCM graduate Jessie Walmisley, Coleridge-Taylor had two children: a son Hiawatha and a daughter Avril (originally Gwendolen; she changed her name later in life). Both children had distinguished musical careers of their own; Hiawatha was a conductor and Avril was a composer as well as conductor. Despite financial stresses and overwork, Coleridge-Taylor said the following about his life: "I have been very happy in my surroundings all my life, first in my mother and then in my marriage. Even without any moderate success, I think I should have been one of those rare beings - a happy man." ~~~~~Program Notes~~~~~ Coming soon!

Heavenly music played masterfully.

I was driving home from work and listening to kusc 91.5 radio , what a breath taking romantic melody 🎶 ever heard , then I had to search for his name and composition. Thanks so much for sharing this 😊❤

Very interesting composer. Very beautiful romantisk music.

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Is there an orchestral version (instead of piano accomp)?