God Understands, Robert Nathaniel Dett

God Understands is composed by Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), setting a poem by Katrina Trask (1853-1922). Born in Ontario, Canada, his ancestors were among the slaves who escaped to the North and settled in that slave-founded town. In 1901, Dett began studying piano and 3 years later he was admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory, where he majored in piano and composition. In 1908, Dett received his B.M. degree, winning Phi Beta Kappa honors. Dett's later education included studies at Harvard University under Arthur Foote (1853-1937), and the American Conservatory in Fountainebleau with Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). In 1932, he completed a Master of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Dett's most important work began in 1913 at the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He trained the choir at this traditionally African American school to a new level of musical excellence. His 40-voice Hampton Singers performed at Carnegie Hall in January 1914. Dett rose to the position of director of the Music Department at Hampton in 1926, and in the same year, Oberlin Conservatory awarded Dett an honorary Doctor of Music degree, both firsts for an African American. In December of 1926, the 80-voice Hampton Choir assumed national prominence as it performed by invitation at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. By 1930 the choir achieved another milestone as it embarked on a 6-week European tour under the auspices of George Foster Peabody, a philanthropic patron of the arts and Hampton Institute trustee. Before leaving the country, the group sang for President Herbert Hoover on the White House lawn.

July 11, 2021
White Memorial Presbyterian Church
Raleigh, NC
Dr. Karl Zinsmeister, piano
[CV-19 Masked Performance]