life and education prepared him to navigate and challenge the musical establishment of his day?

Well, he was studying as a youngster in upstate New York.

So there were opportunities that he had there to study music that probably would not have existed if he had lived farther in the South in the Jim Crow era.

Also, Oberlin Conservatory has always been a very progressive institution, has accepted African descent people and women from very early on.

So he was able to avail himself of those opportunities when they were foreclosed to many, many others.

But it is notable that his career was all spent as a teacher in black colleges, HBCUs as we call them down here, where many colleges were closed to black people, both as students and professors.

So he experienced many barriers in his life.

And Mr. Klipper, tell us, why do you think that music, despite its brilliance, has not achieved the same canonical status as the work of European contemporaries like Bartok or Greg or who's built on folk traditions?