Person Results

J. R. Baxter

1887 - 1960 Person Name: J. R. Baxter, Jr. Arranger of "I Want to be Ready" in Jubilee Spirituals Jesse Randall (Pap) Baxter, Jr. (1887-1960) Born: December 8, 1887, Lebanon, Alabama. Died: January 21, 1960. Baxter grew up in DeKalb County, Alabama. In 1926, he bought part of Virgil Stamps’ Gospel music firm, which became the Stamps-Baxter Music and Printing Company, one of the most successful Gospel music publishers of the early 20th Century. Baxter ran the company’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, office until Stamps’ death in 1940, then moved to Dallas, Texas, to run the main office. After Baxter’s death, his wife, Clarice, ran the business until she died; it was then sold to Zondervan. Baxter was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1997. Lyrics-- After the Sunrise Farther Along God Shall Wipe Away All Tears (© 1940) He Bore It All I Have Peace in My Soul I Hold His Hand (© 1929) I Love My Savior, Too I Want to Help Some Weary Pilgrim I’m Living in Canaan Now Living Grace Praise the Lamb of God Something Happens Travel the Sunlit Way Try Jesus When He Blessed My Soul When We Meet to Part No More © Cyber Hymnal™ (www.hymntime.com/tch)

William Farley Smith

1941 - 1997 Adapter and Arranger of "I WANT TO BE READY" in The United Methodist Hymnal

J. Jefferson Cleveland

1937 - 1986 Arranger of "I WANT TO BE READY" in The New Century Hymnal Judge Jefferson Cleveland (1937-1986) was one of the most important scholars and editors of African-American congregational song of the 20th century. Along with Verogla Nix, he edited what is arguably the most groundbreaking collection of African-American song in the last half of the 20th century, Songs of Zion (1981/1982). Lutheran hymnologist Marilyn Stulken provides a biographical sketch of Cleveland’s life and accomplishments. Born in Georgia, Cleveland graduated from Clark College (Atlanta), Illinois Wesleyan University and received his doctorate in education from Boston University. He served on the faculty of three historically black Christian colleges: Claflin College (South Carolina), Langston University (Oklahoma), and Jarvis Christian College (Texas), before teaching at the University of Massachusetts and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. Cleveland’s musical arrangements, historical research and scholarship on the performance practice of African-American song have proven invaluable for the advancement of black gospel song, not only among African Americans, but also in Anglo hymnals to the present day. For example, Cleveland’s essay, “A Historical Account of the Hymn in the Black Worship Experience,” in Songs of Zion is a helpful introduction for laypersons and scholars alike. In addition to serving as a hymnody consultant for the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, he toured the United States and Africa in 1981 and Europe in 1984 as a teacher, lecturer and performer. --www.umportal.org/

Verolga Nix

1933 - 2014 Arranger of "I WANT TO BE READY" in The New Century Hymnal Verolga Nix (Apr. 6, 1933-Dec. 9, 2014) Born in Cleveland, Verolga moved with her family at an early age to Philadelphia. She studied for two years at New England Conservatory of Music and then earned a music degree from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1955. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Bennett College in 2000. After retiring from twenty years as a full-time music teacher in Philadelphia public schools she served as minister of music at several churches in Philadelphia, trained and conducted many choirs and served as a seminar leader nationwide. She was a member of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), National Association of Negro Musicians and the Hymn Society in U.S. and Canada. In 1980 the United Methodist Church asked her to co-edit with J. Jefferson Cleveland the supplemental hymnal Songs of Zion. She published nearly 200 original songs an arrangements. (further details in The Philadelphia Tribune, Dec.19, 2014 obituary). Mary Louise VanDyke

R. Nathaniel Dett

1882 - 1943 Person Name: R. Nathaniel Dett, 1882-1943 Arranger of "[John said that Jerusalem was foursquare]" in This Far By Faith

Robert O. Hoffelt

b. 1920 Person Name: Robert O. Hoffelt, 1920- Composer of "WALK IN JERUSALEM" in African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal

Anonymous

Author of "I Want to Be Ready" in The Cyber Hymnal In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

Evelyn Simpson-Curenton

b. 1953 Person Name: Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, b. 1953 Arranger of "BE READY" in African American Heritage Hymnal Evelyn Simpson Curenton (born 1953) is a leading African-American composer, pianist, organist, and vocalist. Simpson Curenton began piano lessons at age 5, began to perform with the Singing Simpsons of Philadelphia, a family group, and earned a B.M., Music Education and Voice from Temple University. She has been commissioned to write works for the American Guild of Organists, George Shirley, the late Duke Ellington, and her sister, the late Joy Simpson, arranged music for Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, and the Porgy and Bess Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and has performed with musical organizations such as Philadelphia's National Opera Ebony (later renamed Opera North). Based in the Washington, D.C., area, Curenton is Music Director of the Washington Performing Arts Society's Men and Women of the Gospel and an associate of the Smithsonian Institution. She has given lectures and participated in workshops on early 18th-century black religious music and the music of African-Americans during the Civil Rights era. --en.wikipedia.org

J. B. Herbert

1852 - 1927 Arranger of "[John said the city was just foursquare]" in Praise and Worship Hymns

V. O. Fossett

1904 - 1964 Arranger of "[That city John saw was-a built four square]" in Jubilee Spirituals Died: December 20, 1964. Buried: Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas. A native of DeKalb County, Alabama, Fossett attended his first Gospel Music School at age 12. At age 16, he attended Thomas Mosley’s Normal School. By age 19, he began singing and playing in a quartet. By 1937, he was teaching in High Point, North Carolina, where he married Katherine Strother. Three years later, he joined the Chattanooga, Tennessee, office of the Stamps-Baxter music publishers. Fossett’s works include: Fossett’s Inspirational Melodies (Dallas, Texas: Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Company, 1952) --www.hymntime.com/tch/

User Links

User Links

Discover

Collections

Store

Connect

Search