Music by Black Composers, Violin Volume 1

Beginner to elementary level music for violin with 2nd violin or piano accompaniment. These works are by both men and women who come from North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. The repertoire spans four centuries -- from the 1700s to the present. In addition to the music, this book also contains illustrated composer biographies, features on Black classical music making throughout history, and profiles of Black role models in classical music, past and present.

Violin Volume I is the first in a series expected to include eight volumes, graded by difficulty from beginner to advanced concerto-level playing. Additional orchestral instruments will be the subject of multiple future MBC volumes, and subsequent publications will include works for school orchestras and chamber ensembles. The playing level of Volume I is comparable to books 1-2 of the Suzuki Method.

Includes downloadable reference violin and piano recordings of each piece, performed by Rachel Barton Pine and pianist Matthew Hagle. The book also contains biographies of each composer; feature articles about Black orchestras past and present and about famous African Americans who played violin - including Solomon Northup, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, Coretta Scott King, Sheila Johnson; and profiles of three Black role models in classical music: Sphinx founder Aaron P. Dworkin, founder-director of the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute Lucinda Ali-Landing, and concert violinist Tai Murray. Dworkin also wrote the book's foreword.