Nathaniel Clark Smith: Pioneer American Music Educator

By Dr. Eva Diane Lyle-Smith

If you are interested in learning about a pioneer African American music educator in the United States, then you want to read the story of Nathaniel Clark Smith. Smith was a prolific and charismatic music educator, musician, and composer who lived during the early years of music education history in the United States. His formal training in music was on a military base in Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Extended studies were from Guild Hall in London, England. A college graduate with B.M.A. and M.M degrees, Smith taught music in educational institutions and industries; was a world traveller who performed with the Ernest Hogan Minstrel Troupe; introduced the saxophone to African Americans; composed and published spirituals, marches, operatic songs, a suite, and an unfinished symphony; and hosted a radio broadcast show which was aired all over the Mid-West. He organized bands and out of that, orchestras, choirs, glee clubs and numerous combinations of the voice and instruments were developed. Smith captured the melodies of the countries that he visited in his music compositions.

During his illustrious career, Smith worked with Frederick Douglas, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Booker T. Washington, Nat King Cole, Lionel Hampton, Milton Hinton, John Phillip Sousa, a young Charlie Parker, and others. His students from the Lincoln High School Band became the nucleus of the big band format of the Mid-West. His Pullman Porter musicians were able to perform at a moment’s notice.

Married with one daughter and the son of an African Sergeant Trumpeter and Indian mother, The Story of Nathaniel Clark Smith is a colourful reading of the times during abolition to the mid depression years in the United States. It is the story of an African-American who survived the challenges of the time to obtain a successful music career, and who helped people to better their lives through music in the Mid-Western and Southern African-American communities of the United States.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9781638292104

Dr. Eva Diane Lyle-Smith

Dr. Eva Diane Lyle-Smith, Trumpeter, Music Educator and Band Director has taught music on pre K-college for over 40 years. She is a retired Band Director and Teacher of Music with the Camden City Schools in Camden, NJ. Dr. Eva is the first female Band Director in the Historical Black Colleges and Universities, (HBCU) Fayetteville State University, NC 1977–80. She is the first female band director in the C.I.A.A. (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association). Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Lyle-Smith received the B. S., M.M, and Ph.D. in Music Education with emphasis in Trumpet and Jazz from Hampton University, VA; Bowling Green State University, OH; and the University of North Texas, TX. She is the second African-American to receive the Ph.D. in Music Education from UNT. Dr. Eva performs on trumpet and direct bands professionally throughout the United States and Abroad. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, NY; Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, DC; and the World Exposition Fair, LA. Dr. Eva is an Apollo Theater Alumnus, NY; a member of the Vashon High School Hall of Fame, MO; the successor to jazz patriot, Ellis Marsalis at Xavier University, LA.; and, recorded on LYLE Records, PA. She is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc., (NARAS) which promotes the Grammy Awards. Dr. Eva has met, performed and/or shared the stage with Billy Eckstein, Frankie Laine, Dakota Staton, Abbey Lincoln, Hank Crawford, Ellis, Wynton, Bradford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, Allen Toussaint, Etta James, Fats Domino, the Staple Singers, Patti La Belle, Burning Spear and his Burning Band, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley’s side men, Tonight Show Musicians, Miles Davis, Nat Adderly, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Milton Hinton and others. She has interviewed on Temple Univ. WRTI 90.1 FM Women in Jazz, and listed in Downbeat Magazine. She performed at the New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Mardi Gras Debutant Balls and the Jamaican School of the Arts. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Pershing Angels Military Sorority, the Order of Eastern Star and Honorary Member of Tau Beta Sigma National Band Sorority. Dr. Eva resides in Philadelphia and is divorced with one Son and two grandsons. Dr. Eva received the 2023 Dr. Judith M. Owens Spirit Award: A Champion of Ethnic-Minority Rights, Issues, and Education through the New Jersey Educators Association. She is selected to teach music globally through the Forte Music Platform partnership with the Recording Academy of Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Eva continues to perform and tour throughout the United States and Abroad.

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About the Author

Author’s photo by Phyllis Sims

Dr. Eva Diane Lyle-Smith, Trumpeter, Music Educator and Band Director has taught music on pre K-college for over 40 years. She is a retired Band Director and Teacher of Music with the Camden City Schools in Camden, NJ. Dr. Eva is the first female Band Director in the Historical Black Colleges and Universities, (HBCU) Fayetteville State University, NC 1977–80. She is the first female band director in the C.I.A.A. (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association). Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Lyle-Smith received the B. S., M.M, and Ph.D. in Music Education with emphasis in Trumpet and Jazz from Hampton University, VA; Bowling Green State University, OH; and the University of North Texas, TX. She is the second African-American to receive the Ph.D. in Music Education from UNT. Dr. Eva performs on trumpet and direct bands professionally throughout the United States and Abroad. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, NY; Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, DC; and the World Exposition Fair, LA. Dr. Eva is an Apollo Theater Alumnus, NY; a member of the Vashon High School Hall of Fame, MO; the successor to jazz patriot, Ellis Marsalis at Xavier University, LA.; and, recorded on LYLE Records, PA. She is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc., (NARAS) which promotes the Grammy Awards.

Dr. Eva has met, performed and/or shared the stage with Billy Eckstein, Frankie Laine, Dakota Staton, Abbey Lincoln, Hank Crawford, Ellis, Wynton, Bradford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, Allen Toussaint, Etta James, Fats Domino, the Staple Singers, Patti La Belle, Burning Spear and his Burning Band, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley’s side men, Tonight Show Musicians, Miles Davis, Nat Adderly, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Milton Hinton and others. She has interviewed on Temple Univ. WRTI 90.1 FM Women in Jazz, and listed in Downbeat Magazine. She performed at the New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Mardi Gras Debutant Balls and the Jamaican School of the Arts. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Pershing Angels Military Sorority, the Order of Eastern Star and Honorary Member of Tau Beta Sigma National Band Sorority. Dr. Eva resides in Philadelphia and is divorced with one Son and two grandsons.

Dr. Eva received the 2023 Dr. Judith M. Owens Spirit Award: A Champion of Ethnic-Minority Rights, Issues, and Education through the New Jersey Educators Association. She is selected to teach music globally through the Forte Music Platform partnership with the Recording Academy of Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Eva continues to perform and tour throughout the United States and Abroad.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my family the late Luther and Geraldine Lyle and their descendants, our ancestors, my son, Adam Smith, and my grandsons, Tony and Taylor Smith. It is dedicated to my band directors and all of my music teachers, especially, Mr. Wayman Mickens, Dr. Earl O ’Hare Spearman, Dr. John Taylor, Dr. Chelsea and Mrs. Blonnie Tipton, Dr. Willia Daughtry, Professor John Haynie, Mrs. Violet Thompson, my neighborhood, Bible School teacher, and to my brother, Michael Lyle, who introduced me to the trumpet in 1967 at the age of 13 years.

Copyright Information ©

Dr. Eva Diane Lyle-Smith 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The story, experiences, and words are the author’s alone.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Lyle-Smith, Dr. Eva Diane

Nathaniel Clark Smith

ISBN 9781638292098 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781638292104 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023918096

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

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Acknowledgment

I would like to acknowledge and give thanks to the people who were instrumental in providing information for this book. They are the late Dr. Reginald T. Buckner, University of Minnesota, who inspired me to research and write about Nathaniel Clark Smith. Dr. John A. Taylor, Lincoln University of MO, who read and directed me through the completion of my dissertation. Dr. Dennis Owsley, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Mr. Curt Munsted, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Dr. Daniel Williams, Tuskegee University, and Dr. Wayne Temple, Chief Deputy Director of the Illinois State Archives.

A special acknowledgment of thanks is for Mrs. Gertrude Groves, a senior citizen applied piano teacher whose students found Smith’s music lying in an alley as the remains from a fire at his old home in Kansas City, MO. Mrs. Groves submitted the music that became the foundation for the Nathaniel Clark Smith Archives to the University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO.

Introduction

This study is a biography of the life experiences and times of Nathaniel Clark Smith (1877–1934), an African American musician, music educator, and composer who was born in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and who rose to become one of the first international bandmasters to organize bands, orchestras, and glee clubs in schools and industries in the United States. It will include information on the conditions, the people, and the events that directly influenced Smith in music. In addition, the study will present some of his music.

Smith was a versatile musician who became proficient in many related areas. During his career as an educator, he taught music in public schools and universities. His teachings in music extended outside of the classroom to the church and into industry. He taught railroad porters during the summer and on weekends. He also taught newspaper boys after school and on weekends.

His versatility as a musician displayed his talent in other areas of music. He was a performer who composed and toured in the Americas, Australia, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Most of his compositions were published in the United States; one received a copyright in England. One of his compositions, the Negro Folk Suite, was performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Smith was awarded the John Wanamaker Award for Composers in 1930.

Additionally, Smith established a career as a publisher. Initially, he worked as an apprentice with Lyon and Healy Company in Chicago. Eventually, along with a business investor, he established his own publishing company, the Smith Jubilee Music Publishing Company, based in Chicago. It was the first music publishing company in America to be owned by African-Americans.

His repertoire of achievements included that of a broadcaster. His radio show was broadcast throughout the mid-west by the Columbia Broadcasting Network. Roland Hayes and Paul Roberson concertized his music.

The Nathaniel Clark Smith biography is the story of an outstanding, well-rounded musician who became a role model for musicians. It is the story which discusses the events which were present, as well as, the people who were an influence in his life. Their testaments to him are addressed. Smith was considered to be one of the first composers to notate the spirituals. Spirituals were normally sung without music notation; however, Smith notated his on manuscript. After he established a concept of composing, he included some of the melodies from his travels in his works.

At the time of Smith’s death in 1934, his Negro Choral Symphony had just received a copyright. It was advertised by the St. Louis Globe Democrat and the St. Louis Argus Newspapers. The biography of Nathaniel Clark Smith is divided into five chapters:

Chapter I The Early Years (1877–1901); Chapter II The Chicago and Tuskegee Years (1901–1915); Chapter III The Kansas Years (1915-1922); Chapter IV The Chicago Years (1922–30); and Chapter V The St. Louis Years (1930–1934).

Chapter I

The Early Years: 1877–1901

Nathaniel Clark Smith was born on the 31st of July in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, the largest army base in the West in 1877. At the time of his birth, his father, an African and the chief trumpeter for the 24th Infantry Band, Dan Smith, held the rank of quartermaster sergeant in the United States Army under the leadership of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt¹.

The Smith’s lived in humble conditions at the fort. The life of a soldier was harsh². Little is known about the early years of his life in Kansas. Although some information has been cited by a few sources about Smith’s father, very little information has surfaced about Mrs. Smith. Available documentation about her states that she was part Cherokee Indian and African and that she lived in Ft. Leavenworth after being captured with several other Cherokee Indians who were confined to live on the base for a year. During her captivity, she met and married Mr. Smith and within a year, Nathaniel was born³. Mrs. Smith sang songs to Nathaniel and he later incorporated some of the sounds into his compositions.

The Smiths were well aware of the problems that were present at and around the fort which affected living conditions. Some sources state that the 1870s were the most tranquil years that the mid-west had known. But life at the fort in 1877 was somewhat problematic; it was crowded. It housed several different military groups: the 24th and 25th Infantries, the 9th and 10th Calvary along with their families and several captured Indians⁴. All of these groups utilized the limited resources that were made available at the fort⁵.

Ft. Leavenworth is located near the Kansas and Missouri borders. The soldiers who were in the band were often called upon to provide musical entertainment and other related musical activities for the fort. Thus, the soldiers, in particular those who were from the 24th Infantry band, developed a strong sense of pride in their performances⁶.

While the 24th Infantry band was housed at Ft. Leavenworth, tension developed from other units. Available resources were strained, which in turn caused concerns since the fort was situated in the midst of Indian camps whose inhabitants resented their confinement⁷. Consequently, the rising tension between the Indians and the fort dwellers sparked and fueled invasions of territories and fights. Nevertheless, peaceful communications between the two assemblages were possible⁸.

Ft. Leavenworth became the focus of national attention in 1877 when the remains of five officers including Captain George Custer, who were victims of the stand at