Julian Cassander Work (September 25, 1910—June 15, 1995) was an arranger and composer. Work was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, to a family of professional musicians. His grandfather, John Wesley Work (1848-1923) was a composer and arranger for the

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early ...

; his father, John Wesley Work Jr. (1871-1925) was the first African-American collector of folk songs and spirituals, and also a choral director, educator and songwriter; his brother

John Wesley Work III John Wesley Work III (July 15, 1901 – May 17, 1967) was an American composer, educator, choral director, musicologist and scholar of African-American folklore and music. Biography He was born on July 15, 1901, in Tullahoma, Tennessee, to a f ...

(1901-1967) was a composer, educator, choral director, musicologist and scholar of African-American folklore and music; his mother, Agnes Hayes Work, was a singer who also helped train the Fisk Jubilee Singers.Eileen Southern, ''Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musician'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982), p. 415. Work studied music with local teacher Mary E. Chamberlain and was involved in musical activities from an early age, participating in neighborhood musical groups and performing as a jazz pianist.

Lucius R. Wyatt Lucius Reynolds Wyatt (born August 18, 1938) is an American trumpet player, composer and professor.Eileen Southern, ''Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982), p. 416. Wyatt was born ...

, "Composers Corner: Julian C. Work," ''Black Music Research Newsletter'' 8, no. 3, p. 5. He studied composition with his brother John Wesley Work III while attending

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

, where he majored in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

.William Burres Garcia and Willie Strong, "Work Family: Julian C(assander), Work," ''Grove Music Online''. (accessed 11 July 2021) By 1929 he had moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and was playing piano on the radio. He became a staff arranger for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Radio, becoming one of the first Black American composers to write music for radio and television. He was also the sole music arranger for the

Voice of Firestone ''The Voice of Firestone'' is a radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled ''The Firestone Hour'', it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network ...

on radio and television. Work was also a member of the American Society of Music Arrangers and served on its national board in the mid-1940s. Work married Kathryn Holliday in 1953. Upon his retirement they moved to

Tolland, Massachusetts Tolland is a New England town, town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The pop ...

, where he died.

Partial list of compositions

*Wanderlust (1938) *Myriorama by Night (orchestra, ca. 1946) *Portraits from the Bible (1956) *Autumn Walk (wind band, 1957) *Processional Hymn (arrangement of "Gaudeamus Igitur" for chorus with band or piano accompaniment, 1957) *Driftwood Patterns (wind band, 1961)The work is reviewed in Instrumentalist magazine, June 1961, 64 ("New Music"). *Stand the Storm (1963) *Reflections, Poems of Praise *Forest Images

References

External links

The CBS Collection of Manuscript Scores
in the Music Division of the

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

(contains over 270 scores arranged and orchestrated by Julian Work)
Invisible No More: Julian Work
(blog post) {{DEFAULTSORT:Work, Julian 1910 births 1995 deaths African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American male classical composers American male classical composers Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Fisk University alumni CBS people 20th-century African-American musicians