Negro Dance for Solo Piano

Nora Douglas Holt was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1885, and died in Los Angeles in 1974. During her long and productive life, she was well known as a musician, journalist, and music critic. She was the first African American to earn a master’s degree in music (1918) and was one of the founding members of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. (1919). She was a pioneer in black music criticism and is credited with promoting an awareness of black culture and the arts among several generations of readers as well as inspiring and encouraging numerous black musicians. This rag-like piece uses a more modern harmonic language. Fun to play, yet for the advanced player. A good concert piece.