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THE
HALL JOHNSON COLLECTION AT ROWAN UNIVERSITY
The Hall Johnson Collection grew out of an eleven year friendship of
Hall Johnson and Eugene Thamon Simpson from 1959 until his death in 1970. Simpson visited with Johnson frequently, attended
concerts with him, played for singers Johnson was coaching, and in 1962, gave the first all-Hall Johnson concerts, save for
those of the Hall Johnson Choir, in New York City, with his Voices of Friendship Chorale. In 1969, Simpson recorded The Hall
Johnson Song Book, an album which contained 13 of Johnson's best know spiritual arrangements. So strong was the bond of friendship
and mutual respect that Johnson, at the age of 82, attended the New York Concert of Simpson's Virginia State College Choir,
on April 9, 1970. It would be their last meeting as Johnson died of smoke inhalation in an apartment fire only 21 days later.
It was a single propitious meeting of Simpson with Hall Johnson's sisters, Alice Foster and Susan Jordan, which prompted
them to seek his assistance in settling Johnson's estate, and to present the 104 cartons of music, records, books and other
memorabilia to Rowan University on permanent loan in 1984. Between 1984 and 1988, Dr. Simpson worked alone at the tremendous
task of unpacking, and organizing the materials, and with the help of 25 leading musicians from around the nation, of which
Jessye Norman was the major contributor, he amassed enough money to produce The Hall Johnson Centennial Festival, in October
of that year, marking the 100th anniversary of Johnson's birth. The three-day festival offered a series of five solo recitals
and three choral concerts of Johnson's music. It attracted national attention by National Public Radio, and featured scholarly
presentations by prominent muicioans, including William Warfield, Jester Hairston, Leonard De Paur, D. Antoinette Handy, Eugene
Thamon Simpson, Ingres Hill Simpson, Dr. J. Weldon Norris, and Dr. James Kinchen. The recitalists were Metropolitan Opera
National Auditions Finalist, Robin Wilson, Barbara Dever, later of the Metropolitan Opera Roster, Dr. Blanche Foreman, Gregory
Hopkins, the "Black Pavarotti," and John Morrison, then tenor soloist at New York's Riverside Church. The three
choral groups were the Winston-Salem State University Choir, the Howard University Choir, and the Rowan University Chamber
Choir. A 4-CD album, "The Best of the Hall Johnson Centennial Festival," has recently been issued to document this
event.
In 1991, Bessie Johnson, the sister-in-law of Hall Johnson, bequeathed to the Collection a considerable
sum which has become a permanent endowment to generate a modest operating budget. This has allowed the work of the Curator
and a single part-time assistant to continue to organize, catalog and inventory the materials until 2010, when this task was
substantially completed. The Collection opened for research on an appointment basis in the fall of 2006.
In 2004,
Dr. Simpson, who has served as Curator of the Collection since 1984, completed a definitive biography of Hall Joohnson, "Hall
Johnson: His Life, His Spirit, and His Music." The book was published by Scarecrow Press in 2008 and has garnered
critical acclaim. The Collection provides an important resource for scholars and performers interested in performing Hall
Johnson's music. The Collection has provided scores on loan to Howard University, The Detroit Symphony, and for the Kathleen
Battle - Jessye Norman Sprituals Concert Gala at Carnegie Hall. It has petitioned the U.S. Postal Service Committee on Commemorative
Stamps to include Hall Johnson in the Series of Black Heritage issues. Persons who would be interested in writing letters
of support for this nomination may contact Dr. Simpson for further information at: thamspx1@verizon.net. The recordings, "The Best of the Hall Johnson Centennial Festival," and "The 24 Greatest Spirituals of Hall
Johnson and William Dawson" may also be ordered.
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