Title Page | Collection Summary | History of the Collection | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1888 March 12 | Born Francis Hall Johnson in Athens, Georgia, to The Reverend William Decker Johnson (1842-1909) and Alice Virginia Sansom Johnson (1857-?) |
| 1890s | Studied piano with his sister Mary Elizabeth and then James Davis |
| 1903 | Graduated from the Knox Institute in Athens Studied at Atlanta University |
| 1908 | Graduated from Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina, with a bachelors degree Began graduate studies in theory and composition at the University of Pennsylvania and private violin study at the Hahn School of Music in Philadelphia |
| 1910 | Won the Simon Haessler Prize for the best composition for chorus and orchestra Graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a masters degree |
| 1912 | Married Polly Celeste Copening |
| 1914 | Moved to New York City Studied composition with Percy Goetschuis, head of the theory and composition department at the New York Institution of Musical Arts (later known as The Juilliard School) Performed with James Reese Europe's Orchestra for Vernon and Irene Castle's dance salon Established his own violin, theory, and composition studio |
| 1918 | Performed with Marion Cook's New York Syncopated Orchestra |
| 1920-1927 | Founding violist of the Negro String Quartet, later renamed the American String Quartet, which appeared on a program with Marian Anderson and performed with Roland Hayes at Carnegie Hall |
| 1921-1925 | Performed in the pit orchestra for Shuffle Along by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake |
| 1923 | Performed in the pit orchestra for Runnin' Wild, the show that popularized the Charleston dance |
| 1925 | Established the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, later known as the Hall Johnson Choir |
| 1926 March 16 | First public performance of the Hall Johnson Choir, which took place at the International House in New York |
| 1926, 1927 | Received the Holstein Prize for Composition |
| 1930 | Arranged and composed music for, and directed the Hall Johnson Choir in, the play The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly, gaining national recognition RCA Victor released the first of many recordings of the choir |
| 1931 | Received the Harmon Award for his arrangements in The Green Pastures |
| 1933 March 1 | Premiere of his successful folk opera Run, Little Chillun at the New York City Lyric Theater |
| 1934 | Received an honorary doctorate in music from the Philadelphia Academy of Music |
| 1935 December | Death of Polly Celeste Copening Johnson |
| 1935-1937 | Run, Little Chillun produced by the Federal Theater Project in Los Angeles |
| 1936 | The Green Pastures was made into a film Travelled to Hollywood with fifty singers to appear in the production |
| 1936-1943 | Arranged and directed background music for film shorts, cartoons, and more than thirty Hollywood films, including Lost Horizon, Banjo on My Knee, Hearts Divided, Way Down South, Swanee, and Cabin in the Sky |
| 1937-1939 | Composed the operetta Fi-yer!, which was not produced during Johnson's lifetime |
| 1938 | Run, Little Chillun produced by the Works Progress Administration at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco |
| 1941 | Organized and conducted the Negro Festival Chorus of Los Angeles The Hall Johnson Choir performed on the soundtrack of the Disney film Dumbo |
| 1946 | The Hall Johnson Choir sang in the Disney film Song of the South Returned to New York City Founded the Interracial Festival Chorus of New York City |
| 1946 March 26 | Cantata Son of Man performed at Carnegie Hall |
| 1947 | Introduced the New Artists annual concert series |
| 1951 | Sponsored by the U.S. State Department to conduct the Hall Johnson Choir in Berlin at the International Festival of Fine Arts Extended the tour to Hamburg, Nuremberg, and Vienna to acclaim |
| 1951-1970 | Reestablished his theory and composition studio, coached vocalists, and continued composing and arranging for performers such as Jessye Norman, Marian Anderson, and Robert McFerrin |
| 1955 | Hired by Disney to organize a group of singers for the Mickey Mouse Club television series |
| 1965 | Published his essay "Notes on the Negro Spiritual" |
| 1970 April 19 | Music publisher Carl Fischer, Inc. sponsored a Musical Tribute to Hall Johnson New York City Mayor John Lindsay presented Johnson with the Handel Award |
| 1970 April 30 | Died in New York City |
| 1975 | Elected to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame |
| 2020 | Inducted into the Athens Music Walk of Fame |