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{{Infobox musical artist | name = The Nathaniel Dett Chorale | background = group_or_band | origin = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | instrument = A cappella | years_active = 1998–present | website = {{URL|nathanieldettchorale.org/}} }}
The '''Nathaniel Dett Chorale''' is a Canadian choral group that specializes in Afrocentric music of all styles including classical, spirituals, gospel, jazz, folk, and blues.<ref name=globe>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/book-of-negroes-african-spirituals-a-near-perfect-pairing/article546222/ " Classical concert meets literary reading: a near-perfect pairing"] KATE TAYLOR, ''The Globe and Mail'', February 15, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.musicaltoronto.org/2012/05/31/opera-review-toronto-premiere-of-scott-joplins-treemonisha-a-significant-cultural-event/ Opera review: Toronto premiere of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha a significant cultural event"]. ''Musical Toronto'', By John Terauds on May 31, 2012</ref> It is named after the Canadian-born Black composer and musician R. Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943), who had a long teaching career in the United States.<ref name="goodall2008">{{cite book|author=lian goodall|title=Singing Towards the Future: The Story of Portia White|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vbynAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA39|date=October 1, 2008|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-894917-55-1|pages=39–}}</ref><ref name="SchabasMansouri2013">{{cite book|author1=Ezra Schabas|author2=Lotfi Mansouri|author3=Stuart Hamilton|author4=James Neufeld, Robert Popple, Walter Pitman, Holly Higgins Jonas, Michelle Labrèche-Larouche, Carl Morey|title=Dundurn Performing Arts Library Bundle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwBVAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT398|date=December 17, 2013|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-2401-3|pages=398–}}</ref> The group has performed in the Maritimes, Quebec, Manitoba, Western Canada, the United States, and France. The Chorale has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
==Nathaniel Dett== {{main|Robert Nathaniel Dett}} Canadian-born Black musician and composer Nathaniel Dett studied piano as a child.<ref name="goodall2008" /> He worked as a church organist in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, from 1898 to 1903. He graduated from Oberlin College with a Bachelor of Music in 1908, and later studied composition with the French composer Nadia Boulanger. Dett taught at Lane College in Jackson, Mississippi; Hampton Institute in Virginia; Samuel Houston College in Austin, Texas; and Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. At the Eastman School of Music he earned a Master of Music degree in 1932. He won prizes from Harvard University for his article entitled ''The Emancipation of Negro Music'' and for a motet, "Don't Be Weary, Traveller". Dett edited several published collections of folk songs and spirituals, and served as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians from 1924 to 1926.
==History== The Chorale was founded in 1998 by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor,<ref name="Williams2006">{{cite book|author=Dawn P. Williams|title=Who's who in Black Canada 2: Black Success and Black Excellence in Canada: a Contemporary Directory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UtdQ6NsvYkC&pg=PA70|year=2006|publisher=Who's Who in Black Canada|isbn=978-0-9731384-2-9|pages=70–}}</ref><ref name="Brooks2010">{{cite book|author=Tim Brooks|title=Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lf7NTiZVvy0C&pg=PA492|date=October 1, 2010|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-09063-9|pages=492–}}</ref> who continues to be the director of the group.<ref>[http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/04/10/musical-sermon-draws-hearty-amen "Musical sermon draws hearty amen"]. ''Bradford Expositor'', By Murray Charters, April 10, 2013</ref><ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nathaniel-dett-chorale-heads-for-obama-celebrations-1.790623 "Nathaniel Dett Chorale heads for Obama celebrations"]. ''CBC News'', January 8, 2009</ref>
As well as touring throughout Canada, the Chorale also performed at the Pollyfolia choral festival in France in 2004<ref>[https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/newsroom/feature-stories/223-dettcover "Nathaniel Dett Cover Story"]. ''The Whole Note'', by Colin Eatock January 28, 2009</ref> and at the U.S. Library of Congress in 2007.
In 2009, the group performed at the inauguration of Barack Obama.<ref name="Henry2010">{{cite book|author=Natasha L. Henry|author-link=Natasha L. Henry-Dixon|title=Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5y-XibwWti0C&pg=PA248|date=July 12, 2010|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-77070-547-0|pages=248–}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|http://www.nathanieldettchorale.org/}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathaniel Dett Chorale}} Category:Canadian choirs Category:Musical groups established in 1998 Category:Musical groups from Toronto Category:1998 establishments in Ontario