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George Walker
Info
06/27/1922
Washington, D.C.
08/23/2018
Montclair, New Jersey
USA
20th Century
Orchestral, Chamber, Choral
Washington, D.C.
08/23/2018
Montclair, New Jersey
USA
20th Century
Orchestral, Chamber, Choral
Biography
- When George was five years old he began to play the piano. At the age of 14 he gave his first public piano recital at Harvard University. With this performance he was admitted into the Oberlin Conservatory, graduating with a major in piano and a minor in organ, by the age of 18. He then studied under Rudolf Serkin, Rosario Scalero, and and Gian-Carlo Menotti at the Curtis Institute of Music after which he played with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He finally received his Doctorate from the Eastman School of Music. In Europe he studied under Nadia Boulanger on the Fulbright and John Hay Whitney Fellowships program.
- After returning to the United States George accepted an academic appointments at Smith College and the University of Colorado in 1961. In 1969 he became a professor of music at Rutgers University. While teaching at Rutgers he also taught at the Peabody Institute. In 1975 George was appointed the 1st Distinguished Minority Chair at the University of Delaware. He retired Professor Emeritus from Rutgers University as in 1992.
- Walker was the recipient of a number of awards and the first black man to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Awards Include:
- Pulitzer Prize Winner 1996 for Lilacs
- 2 Gugganheim Fellowships
- 2 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships
- Several MacDowell Colony and Yaddo Fellowships
- 5 National Endowments of the arts
- The 1963 Harvey Gaul Prize
- Honorary Doctorates from Lafayette Collage and the Oberlin College
Main Works
Orchestral Music:
Lilacs (Pulitzer Prize Winner 1996)
2 Overtures2 SymphoniesConcertos for cello, violin, and tromboneVariations for orchestra
Chamber Music:
2 String Quartets