Born in Drummondville, Ontario in 1882 (now Niagara Falls), Robert Nathanial Dett would go on to become one of history’s greatest composers. He was also a choir leader, pianist, teacher, poet, and writer. He showed interest in music at a very young age and began studying piano in 1901. He studied music at multiple conservatories and earned a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in composition and piano from the Oberlin Conservatory in 1908. He studied at Harvard, winning two composition prizes there, and earned his Masters’ degree at the Eastman School of Music in 1932. Dett started teaching at the Hampton Institute in Virginia in 1913, becoming the first black Director of Music in the school’s history in 1926. His work with the choir reached national prominence, with the Hampton Singers performing by invitation at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C in 1926. even tour Europe with the Hampton Singers—introducing European audiences to black American music. Dett has published over 100 compositions, principally piano, vocal, and choral works. He later passed in 1943 but left a lasting impression a triumph for black composers.