Roland Marvin Carter (born May 4, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, largely of choral music. A native of

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, Carter studied music education at

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

, from which he received a BA, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, from which he received his MA; he studied piano, choral music, and composition. From 1965 until 1989 he taught music at Hampton University, chairing the department of music and leading the choir. In 1989 he moved to the

University of Tennessee, Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was found ...

, where he directed the choir and continued to teach until his 2013 retirement. Carter is best known for his work as composer, conductor, arranger, and publisher to promote the choral music of

African-American composers African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. He served as president of the

National Association of Negro Musicians The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. is one of the oldest organizations in the United States dedicated to the preservation, encouragement, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African-Americans. NANM had its beginning on May 3 ...

from 2003 until 2009, and publishes choral music, especially arrangements of

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

, through his publishing company MAR-VEL; as a composer, he has created numerous spiritual arrangements himself, as well as composing new choral compositions on a variety of texts. At

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

he conducted the first concert in the African-American Music Series. Much of his output has been recorded. As a conductor, Carter has said that he believes in performing spiritual arrangements much as he would the work of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, rather than bringing a more folk-based sensibility to them. Carter has received numerous awards throughout his career, including an honorary doctorate from

Shaw University Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...

and an honorary membership in

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (legally Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha, PMA, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for men with a special interest ...

, granted in 2006. In 2022 the city of Chattanooga named a street for him. Carter donated his archive to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Roland 1942 births Living people 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians African-American classical composers African-American conductors (music) American choral conductors 20th-century classical composers 21st-century American classical composers American male classical composers American male conductors (music) Musicians from Chattanooga, Tennessee Classical musicians from Tennessee Hampton University alumni New York University alumni Hampton University faculty University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty