Robert Nathaniel Dett (October 11, 1882 – October 2, 1943) was a Canadian-American composer, organist, pianist, choral director, and music professor. Descended from escaped slaves who travelled North, his mother was a native of Drummondville and his father was from the United States. The young Dett studied piano at an early age, showing initial interest when he was three years old and starting piano lessons at the age of five. When he was a child, his mother directed him to Shakespeare, Longfellow, and Tennyson, and commit passages to memory.

He was influenced by the music of Antonín Dvořák while studying at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he was the first black American composer to complete a Bachelor of Music degree. Other influences included The Song of Hiawatha by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor based on a poem of the same name by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Some of the music reminded Dett of the spirituals he had learned from his grandmother.

Dett is remembered most for his work in creating music in the style of the European Romantic composers that incorporated elements of African-American spirituals. His music is still performed today. Canada's Nathaniel Dett Chorale was named for him and performs his music as well as that of other composers of African descent.

We will be featuring Dett’s Chariot Jubilee at our upcoming concert. This oratorio is thought to be the first-ever symphonic work based solely on African-American spirituals and folklore. Originally written and performed in 1919, the orchestration was lost for decades but was re-created 80 years later, enabling new performances, including for Martin Luther King's 70th birthday. Spirituals, African-American folk songs, and lines from the Bible form the basis of the text sung by both the solo tenor and the chorus. The free form of the text embraces a number of styles that can be heard throughout this exuberant piece.