WILLIAM RUSSO TRANSCRIPTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF DUKE ELLINGTON'S FIRST CONCERT OF SACRED MUSIC, n.d., #406

By Deborra Richardson, April 1992

Biography

William Russo is currently the Director of the Contemporary American Music program at Columbia College Chicago. Active on the music scene since 1947, he toured Europe as the leader of a quintet; lived in London, where he conducted the London Jazz Orchestra and worked with the BBC; and lived and taught in New York and Chicago. Russo was noted in the fifties as a composer of experimental music for Stan Kenton's orchestra and Third Stream Music for the Russo Orchestra. He is a trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor.

Scope and Content

William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music consists of the full conductor score, orchestral parts, and choral parts to "In the Beginning God," "Tell Me It's the Truth," "Come Sunday," "The Lord's Prayer," "Will You Be There?" "Ain't But the One," and "David Danced." The transcription and arrangement were created by Professor Russo, who spent some time working with Ellington on the project during the late sixties or early seventies.

Provenance

The materials were donated to the Archives Center by Prof. Russo during a January, 1991 conference of the International Association of Jazz Educators held in Washington, D.C.

Container List
Series 1: FIRST CONCERT OF SACRED MUSIC: A TRANSCRIPTION

Box 1

Folder 1, Full conductor score for the first sacred concert: includes "In the Beginning God," "Tell Me It's the Truth," "Come Sunday," "The Lord's Prayer," "Will You Be There?" "Ain't But The One," "David Danced;" 2, Instrumental parts for "Come Sunday," "The Lord's Prayer," "Will You Be There?" and "David Danced;" 3, Choral parts to "In the Beginning God," "Tell Me It's the Truth," "Come Sunday," "The "Lord's Prayer," "Will You Be There?" "Ain't But The One," "David Danced." Instrumental parts to "In the Beginning God," and "Tell Me It's the Truth." A photocopy of an original Ellington short sketch score.

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