With Juneteenth now declared a federal holiday in the United States, we feature books and other materials that celebrate and describe the work of Black American composers.

Do you recognize any of these names: Joseph Bologne, Florence Price, George Bridgetower, William Grant Still, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, George Walker, Scott Joplin, Wynton Marsalis? Here are some materials that you may want to check out in order to discover what these composers and performers contributed to the history of music and its flourishing in the U.S.

• Jubilee! Art Songs and Spirituals by Black American Composers (this CD features a local soprano and Calvin alumna, and a Calvin staff accompanist)
• Watch and Pray: Spirituals and Art Songs by African-American Women Composers (CD)
• The Majesty of the Blues (CD featuring Wynton Marsalis and his Sextet)
• Unsung Hymns by Black and Unknown Bards (music score)
• Twenty-four Negro Melodies, opus 59 (music score; Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
• From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music (book)
• Joseph Boulogne: Called Chevalier de Saint-Georges (book)
• William Grant Still (book)
• Reminiscenses of an American Composer and Pianist (auto-biography of George Walker)