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The collection (finding aid available online) is a rich resource documenting the lives and careers of Still and Arvey, and includes musical scores, literary manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, a log of performances of Still's compositions, and dream books for both Still and Arvey. In addition, the collection contains sheet music, audio recordings, photographs, and books.
The Still-Arvey collection covers most of the twentieth century, from 1920 to 1988. Because Still and Arvey were active participants in the cultural life of their times, and because of Still's stature in the African-American community, the collection has value for research in music, musicology, literature, cultural history, and African-American studies.
Since the arrival of the first increment of the Still papers at the University of Arkansas, researchers have shown considerable interest in the collection. Their works include theses and dissertations, biographies of William Grant Still and Langston Hughes, and numerous articles and academic papers.
William Grant Still (1895-1978) was an important trailblazer in American orchestral music. Although he was born in Mississippi, he spent his formative years in Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied at Wilberforce and Oberlin Colleges, and played and arranged music with W.C. Handy. Later he studied with Edgard Varese and began to compose music in the modernist style. By the 1940s, however, while he continued to use elements of his African-American heritage, he incorporated them into the nineteenth-century Continental tradition.
He was the first African-American composer to achieve significant attention in the national arena. His Afro-American Symphony was the first symphony composed by an African-American to be performed by a leading orchestra (the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 1931). He was the first African-American to conduct a major American Orchestra (Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1936), and the first to conduct a major orchestra in the Deep South (New Orleans Philharmonic in 1955). He was the first African-American composer to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island in 1949 by the New York City Opera). In addition to his achievements in the United States, Still's compositions were performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Orchestra.
Still received many prizes and honors for his work, including two Guggenheim fellowships, and many honorary degrees, including doctorates from Oberlin and Wilberforce Colleges. The University of Arkansas awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1971. He was often referred to in the press as the "Dean of Afro-American composers."
Verna Arvey (1910-1987) was a concert pianist and journalist. The daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, she was born and reared in California. She and William Grant Still were married in Mexico in 1939. Although she continued to perform in California, she concentrated her creative energies on writing. She wrote articles on musical subjects for Etude, Musical America, and Musical Courier, among other magazines. She also wrote Choreographic Music, published in 1941. She was included in the first edition of Who's Who of American Women, published in 1941. Verna Arvey collaborated with Still on many of his compositions, including the libretto for A Bayou Legend. She was a very dedicated promoter of Still's work and reputation. Her biography of William Grant Still, entitled In One Lifetime, was published in 1984 by the University of Arkansas Press.
Access to the Still-Arvey papers is open to students, faculty, and others upon application to the staff. To facilitate their work, researchers who wish to use the papers are advised to write, email or telephone Special Collections in advance.
Telephone: (479) 575-5577
FAX: (479) 575-6656
Telnet: tn library.uark.edu (login: infolink)