The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc.

 

        A historic organization, the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) was founded in Chicago in 1919.  It is the oldest organization dedicated to the promotion, preservation and support of all music created or performed by African-Americans.  It has, likewise, sought to develop higher professional standards of all music through lectures, conferences and conventions.  Since its inception, it has provided encouragement and support for thousands of African-American musicians, many who have become widely respected figures in music and have contributed significantly to American music culture and history.  In our 95-year history, NANM has awarded over 175 financial scholarships and awards to talented young musicians throughout the country.  A list of them would include such luminaries as Marian Anderson, first scholarship award recipient in 1927, William L. Dawson, Florence B. Price, Margaret Bonds, Warren Wilson, James Frazier, Julia Perry, Grace Bumbry, Leon Bates, Joseph Joubert, Awadagin Pratt and many, many others.

 

        NANM has presented numerous internationally known personalities over the years, which includes clinicians William Warfield, Sylvia Olden Lee, James Cleveland, Raoul Abdul, Sowah Mensah, V. Michael McKay and Robert Ray; concert artists Roland Hayes, George Shirley, Shirley Verrett, the Albert McNeil Jubilee singers, Robert McFerrin, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, The sounds of blackness, The Uptown String Quartet, Derek Lee Ragin, Esther Hines and Pieces of a Dream; educators Carl Diton, Warner Lawson, Fredericks Hall, Kemper Harreld and Wendell Whalum; composers and arrangers John W. Work, Dr. Roland M. Carter former president, Moses Hogan, Henry Thacker Burleigh, Betty Jackson king; and scholars Maude Cuney-Hare, Eileen Southern, Doris McGinty, John Lovell and Alain Locke.  These constitute only a fraction of the many musicians, educators, scholars and lovers of music who constitute the musical fabric of the organization.  Foremost among the activities of NANM are its programs and activities, which involve young people.  These include NANM's national Junior and Youth Divisions, and Campus Branches comprised of collegiate young artists from colleges and universities all over the country.  These young people participate in workshops and are presented in performances throughout each annual convention week.