John Thomas Douglass facts for kids
John Thomas Douglass (born 1847, died 1886) was an American composer, a very skilled violin player (called a virtuoso), a conductor (who leads music groups), and a teacher. He is most famous for writing an opera called Virginia's Ball in 1868. This opera is generally seen as the very first one written by a Black American composer.
Sadly, the music for Virginia's Ball is now lost. The only piece of his music that still exists today is The Pilgrim: Grand Overture (1878) for piano. A book about music from 1878, called Music and Some Highly Musical People, mentions that he wrote many other pieces. These included music for piano, orchestra, and especially guitar, which he was known to play very well.
Douglass was a highly respected violinist. People praised his violin playing a lot during his lifetime. Besides playing solo, he also traveled with different music groups in the 1870s, like the Hyers Sisters. By the 1880s, he settled in New York City. There, he ran a music studio and led a group of string musicians. Later in his life, he taught music. One of his students was David Mannes, who later became the main violinist (called a concertmaster) for the New York Symphony Orchestra. Almost 30 years after Douglass passed away at age 38 or 39, Mannes started the Colored Music Settlement School to honor his teacher.
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Life and Career of John Thomas Douglass
John Thomas Douglass was born in New York City in 1847. We don't know much about his early life. However, it's believed that a wealthy supporter helped him study music in Europe when he was young.
He made New York his home by the late 1860s. His opera, Virginia's Ball, had its first performance in New York. It was shown at the Stuyvesant Institute on Broadway. This opera had three acts. The music for it is now lost. The work was officially registered in 1868. Music experts believe it was performed that same year.
In the 1870s, Douglass started performing widely. This was because, like many artists then, he couldn't make enough money just by playing his violin. So, he toured with groups like the Georgia Minstrels and the Hyers Sisters. When he was with the Hyers Sisters, their father, Samuel B. Hyers, put together a company. This group included Douglass, a singer named Wallace King, John W. Luca, and pianist Alexander C. Taylor.
Douglass returned to New York in the 1880s. There, he ran a music studio. He also led a string ensemble, which is a group of musicians who play string instruments. This group performed for different public events, like dances.
People who lived at the same time as Douglass described him as one of the best musicians in the United States. They called him "the master violinist." He was also known as "one of the greatest musicians of the race." A book from 2010, Encyclopedia of African American Music, says Douglass was a major Black violinist. He was in the same group as other great violinists like Walter F. Craig and Joseph Douglass. These musicians were all active in New York. John Thomas Douglass and Walter F. Craig were especially known for their very high level of skill. Douglass was also known for playing the guitar.
Douglass also had a teaching studio. He taught violin to both David Mannes and Albert Mando. David Mannes later became a violinist. Then he became the main violinist for the New York Symphony Orchestra. In 1916, Mannes started the Colored Music Settlement School to remember Douglass. John Thomas Douglass died in 1886. He was 38 or 39 years old. He did not live to see the school created in his honor.
He has a short story about his life in a book by James Monroe Trotter. The book is called Music and Some Highly Musical People (1878). It was written when Douglass was in his thirties.
Musical Works by John Thomas Douglass
We only know about two of Douglass's musical works. These are Virginia's Ball and The Pilgrim: Grand Overture. Only The Pilgrim has survived to today. It is believed he wrote many other pieces. This is based on what Trotter said: "He has also composed many fine pieces for orchestras and for piano." Trotter also reported that Douglass arranged and wrote "a great deal of music" for the guitar.
Music by other Black composers from this time often hasn't survived either. For example, Frederick Elliott Lewis (1846–18?) and Jacob J. Sawyer (1856–1885) also only have one keyboard piece each that still exists. These pieces were all published in the book Music and Some Highly Musical People.
About Virginia's Ball
Virginia's Ball was an opera written by John Thomas Douglass. It had three acts. It was first performed in 1868 at the Stuyvesant Institute on Broadway. It is only known to have been performed once. The music for it is now lost.
This opera is generally thought to be the first opera written by a Black composer. However, some experts note that Harry Lawrence Freeman might be seen as the first important Black composer of opera. He wrote 14 operas and had five of them performed between 1893 and 1947.
Music experts Mellonee V. Burnim and Portia K. Maultsby explain something interesting. In the late 1800s, African Americans wanted to be part of "fancy entertainment." They wanted to create works like the famous operas by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, and Giuseppe Verdi. The money made from works like Virginia's Ball was probably very small.
About The Pilgrim
Douglass's piece, The Pilgrim: Grand Overture for piano, was published in 1878. It was included in Trotter's book. Trotter said that Douglass wrote this piece when he was in his twenties (between 1867 and 1876).
The piece has 173 bars (sections of music). It is in the key of E minor. It starts with a slow speed, marked Andante. But it changes speed many times. It includes parts that are fast (Allegro Vivace), very slow (Adagio), and medium-slow (Lento).
The music often uses scales, tremolos (a quick repeating of a note), and fancy musical decorations (called embellishments). These parts make the piano piece sound like it was originally written for a full orchestra.
