Nicholas G. J. Ballanta
| Nicholas G. J. Ballanta | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nicholas George Julius Taylor |
| Born |
14 March 1893 Kissy, Sierra Leone |
| Died | 1962 (aged 68–69) Kissy, Sierra Leone |
| Occupation(s) | music scholar, composer, educator |
| Years active | 1911–1962 |
Nicholas G.J. Ballanta (1893–1962) was a Sierra Leonean music scholar, composer and educator who conducted field research of the music of West Africa in the early 20th century. His education in European music influenced his musical compositions. The years he spent collecting indigenous African music prompted him to compose musical plays or operas set in African villages; his work combines elements from both African and European music.
Nicholas George Julius Taylor was born 14 March 1893 in Kissy, near the city of Freetown in Sierra Leone. His early memories included singing in the choir at St. Patrick's Anglican Church. His mother was a Christian woman of the Mende tribe; his father, Gustavus Taylor, played the violin and organ. A ship's engineer, Gustavus Taylor travelled between Sierra Leone and the Gambia. Nicholas remembered his father performing concerts in the Gambia. Gustavus died in a shipping accident when Nicholas was ten years old.
In 1905 Nicholas was sent to the CMS Grammar School in Freetown. There he played clarinet and became sergeant of the school band. By 1906 he completed Clark's Catechism in Music, and also won first prize in music at the government school exhibition. At that time he began lessons in organ. Completing the high school course in less than the normal three years, he went to work as a clerk in the Sierra Leone attorney general's office. He received several promotions for government positions in Sierra Leone and the Gambia.
Beginning in 1911, Nicholas served as organist at St. Patrick's church, and between 1913 and 1917 he studied books on harmony, form, counterpoint and fugue. In 1917 he passed the first examination for the degree of Bachelor of Music at Durham University, but a trip to England would have been required to complete the degree.
As musical director of the choral society in Freetown, Nicholas worked with Adelaide Caseley Hayford, who used her influence to promote Ballanta's further education. He composed a choral work, "Belshazzar's Feast", set to a text by Felicia Hemans, that was performed in Freetown in 1919. When Mrs. Caseley Hayford travelled to America, she took that work with her to continue promoting his career. She urged him to join her and sent funds for his journey to the United States.
After working with Mrs. Caseley Hayford to produce African pageants in Boston and Philadelphia, Nicholas went to New York, where he wrote two articles for the Musical Courier: "Jazz Music and Its Relation to African Music" (1 June 1922), and "An African Scale" (29 June 1922).
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