A New York Times reviewer, as quoted in Walker's American Classical Music Hall of Fame biography, described the composer as 'an authentic talent of marked individuality and fine musical insight. Later that year, Walker performed his debut recital at the Town Hall in New York City, the first African American instrumentalist to perform there. In 1945, he received his Artist Diplomas in Piano and Composition and was the first African American graduate of the Curtis Institute. Two years later at the age of 18, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree with the highest honors.įrom there, Walker attended the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied piano with Rudolph Serkin, composition with Rosario Scalero, and chamber music with William Primrose and Gregor Piatigorsky. In 1939, Walker became the organist for the Graduate School of Theology of Oberlin College. While at Oberlin, Walker studied piano with David Moyer and organ with Arthur Poister. Soon after, he graduated from Dunbar High School and received a four-year scholarship to Oberlin College. When Walker was just 14 years old, he played in his first public recital at Howard University's Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel. 'We had nothing but classical music growing up,' Walker recalled to Mavis Clark in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine (OAM). Walker's sister, Francis, eventually became the professor emerita for pianoforte at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Walker's mother, Rosa King Walker, played the piano and gave her son his first lessons when he was five years old. At the time, the American Medical Association (AMA) did not accept African American doctors as members, so the elder Walker formed his own medical associations to create dialogue and shared research among colleagues. He put himself through medical school at Temple University. The elder Walker was an immigrant from Jamaica who moved to the United States with $35 and a desire to become a physician. He learned a strong sense of dedication to his goals from his father, George Walker, who taught himself to play the piano. It helped that he was born into a musical family. Walker developed his interest in music from a young age. Walker has been awarded a number of honorary doctorate degrees, including those from Lafayette College in 1982, Oberlin College in 1983, Bloomfield College in 1996, Curtis Institute of Music in 1996, and Montclair State University in 1996. He also earned several National Endowment for the Arts grants and two Koussevitzky Awards. He received a Fulbright, MacDowell Colony, two Guggenheim, and two Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships. Several fellowship programs recognized Walker's talent. Over the years, his pieces have been recorded on several record labels, including Columbia, CRI, Desto, Mercury, Orion, Summit, and Albany Records. Nearly every major orchestra in the United States has performed his work, as well as several orchestras in Europe. Many of his compositions were commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Eastman School of Music, Fromm Foundation, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Boys Choir of Harlem. Walker's published catalog exceeds 80 works and includes instrumental and vocal solos, chamber music, orchestral works, and choral music. It is important to stress one's individuality beyond race, but I must do it as a black person who is aspiring to be a product of a civilized society.'

'I am steeped in the universal tradition of my art. 'I believe that music is above race,' Walker is quoted as saying in his American Classical Music Hall of Fame biography.

He was the first African American to perform at New York City's Town Hall and with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the first African American instrumentalist to be signed by a major management company, the first African American graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, and the first African American composer to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Music. He received the Pulitzer for his work Lilacs in 1996.Īn accomplished and prolific classical music composer, George Walker has achieved many 'firsts' in his career, mostly related to his race. George Theophilus Walker is an African-American composer, the first to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

George walker composer