the dr. herbert franklin mells project
One Found Sound’s Herbert Franklin Mells Project includes the world premieres and recordings of four of Dr. Mells’s orchestral works composed from 1938 to 1945. This exciting initiative launches at “Horizon,” on March 4, 2023 at Heron Arts in San Francisco with the world premiere performance of Dr. Mells’s Symphony No. 1 in D minor, composed in 1938.
who is Herbert Franklin Mells?
Born in 1908, Herbert Franklin Mells was a composer, professor, and choral director, and was the first Black man to receive a Ph.D. in composition with a focus on orchestral music.
Dr. Mells composed a great amount of vocal and instrumental music, and much of his vocal work was published during his lifetime. However, his symphonic works have yet to be published nor performed. Despite Dr. Mells’s best efforts to have his orchestral works published, historian Mark Clague notes that they “were continually rejected, however, because, as Dr. Mells was told, there was no market for classical music written by a Black man.”
Dr. Mells served as the music department chair at Langston University, Hampton Institute, and later at Tennessee State University, where he held this position until his death in 1953.
why is this world premiere happening over 80 years late?
Despite his own efforts, racist practices prevented Herbert Franklin Mells from having his orchestral works published in his lifetime. One Found Sound’s Herbert Franklin Mells project will bring his large-scale symphonic works to the public stage for the very first time. Over the next five years, this project includes the long overdue performance, recording, and publication of Dr. Mells’s orchestral works.
what does this project mean to us — and what does it mean for you?
OFS’s Herbert Franklin Mells project will bring his orchestral music to the ears of audiences and hands of musicians for the first time! This project also encourages a deeper look at our past by addressing the intersection of structural racism and classical music in the United States, and by considering where classical music is coming from—and where it’s going next. We are thrilled to perform Dr. Mells’s music and hope to inspire others to amplify long-silenced creative voices that still have lessons to teach.
which pieces will One Found Sound perform?
This project includes the world premiere and recording of four of Dr. Mells’s large-scale symphonic compositions:
Symphony No. 1 in D Minor (1938) - premiering on March 4, 2023 at Heron Arts in San Francisco
Symphony No. 2 in B Minor (1944)
News Flashes of Late ‘44 (1944)
Symphonic Poem of the Americas (1945)
what are the project outcomes?
Public performances of Dr. Mells’s large-scale symphonic works, publicly available recordings of these works, and the production of first edition scores and orchestral parts, published externally by Dr. R. James Whipple,professor of music theory at Carnegie Mellon University.
Long-term project goals include the increased awareness and performance of Dr. Mells’s orchestral music, which OFS hopes will inspire the revival and performance of works by similarly oppressed creative voices.
OFS seeks to inspire the next generation of classical musicians to break down barriers of entry, to ask difficult questions, and to focus our creative energies on understanding and amplifying long-silenced voices. We hope that this project will serve as a resource for musicians who are seeking to bring equity, inclusion, and diversity to classical music.
Throughout this project, OFS will continue to work closely with Mells's surviving family, our DEI consultants, and Advisory Board as we navigate and remain conscious of internal and external issues of race and bias.
Photo from: Clague, Mark. "Mells, Herbert Franklin," InInternational Dictionary of Black Composers. Edited by Samuel A. Floyd. 1st ed. Vol. 2. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999.