The Washington bee., 1911-03-18
CHATS ON MUSIC AND MUSIC
STUDY.
S. COLERIDGE TAYLOR.
By ]. Hillary Taylor.
The Man.

The Man.
Among the FIVE races OF people
striving for supremacy IN intellectual
development, the Negro or black race
IS destined to and is sure to leave an
indelible stamp upon the eveT-Inter-
esting pages of racial history. That
many such impressions have already
been made is strongly recognized by
all honest and impartial writers and
historians.
Phyllis Wheatley fresh from the
shores of Africa, and thrown among
Americans Of refinement and culture,
proved what lies dormant in the ebony
skins of those who hunger and thirst
after enlightenment. Frederick Doug
lass, though born a slave, died a
wOrld-renOwned orator, and was one
of the mCst potent forces that la
bored for the breaking of those chains
that held our people in bondage. II.
O. Tanner, in painting, has blazed i'm
mortal images on the scroll of time.
1t was left to Paul Lawrence Dun
bar to catch the spirit Of tradition
and preserve the beautiful dialect,
myths and fables OF the American Ne
gro that found their birth during the
darker days. Booker T. Washington,
Of our own time, has harnessed the
secrets of industrial training and its
wonderful influence on a new and
striving people to the extent that his
works have already won for him an
imperishable name. Beginning with
a shed, he now has a school that IS
practically a city. It has been given
to but few individuals, white or black,
to have won the respect and good will
of all natiOnalit es as has this Moses
of the black race The5@ names are
a few Of the most illustriOus VINO nave
proved conclusively that all the Negro
needs IS a fair chance and he will
make good in most any line OF ra-
Cial development
After thinking over the strong char
aCters above mentioned, we have our
claims to recognition, more indelibly
yet, stamped upon the pages Of history
by the dOings and works of s. Cole
ridge Taylor, the first great Negro
composer. S. Coleridge Taylor was
born in London, England, IN 1875. His
father was full-blOOded African, who
received his education in the medical
profession in London. He married an
English woman, and the subject of
our sketch is the happy result of this
union When only a little child, Cole
ridge began to display wonderful tai
ent for music, and at an early age be-
gan the study of the violin under JO-
seph BeCkwith, who taught him for
about seven years. About this pc
riOd, Col Herbert A. Walters became
interested in him and paid for the re-
mainder of his education In 1900 he
entered the Royal College of Music
and began a more serious study of the
secrets of violin playing, with all the
necessary collateral studies. In 1893
he won a free scholarship in open
competition which entitled him TO
three years instruction at the Royal
College of Music. Another year sup
plemented this three, which, with the
three he had spent in the college prior
to winning the scholarship, made him
spend seven years as a student in the
Royal College of Music. This shows
that, though greatly talented, he felt
that one should have a long and Sc
we're professional training before en-
tering upon the stage of lIfe-a
thought we'll worth us pondering over.
That this boy showed precocity in
his musical development is proven by
the fact that he had not been studying
at the Royal College for more than
one year when he had written a COM
position for strings that his COmpO-
sition teacher, DR.. c. Villers Stan
ford, thought had enough merit to
have it performed in public.