Rediscovering the genius of R. Nathaniel Dett

Who was Eastman School of Music's first Black graduate?In 1937, radio listeners across the country heard a live performance of “The Ordering of Moses,” the defining composition of R. Nathaniel Dett, the first Black graduate of the Eastman School of Music, over the NBC Radio Network. But 40 minutes into what was to be an historic hour-long broadcast — one of the first new compositions by a Black classical composer to be aired nationally — an announcer broke in:…