Classical Musicians of African Descent

WXXI Classical 91.5 is in the process of building a resource of photos and brief biographical information about musicians of African descent. This resource is by no means complete, and we rely on you to help us build the site by sharing your information. Please click on the alphabetical groupings below to begin your discovery.

Roger Whitworth, French horn

Classical 91.5 WXXO-FM | By classical intern

Published August 18, 2017 at 10:01 AM EDT

Roger Whitworth, a native of Chicago, attended Indiana University as a music performance and education major. In July of 1977, Roger joined The President’s Own, U.S. Marine Band. In 1989, he joined the 257th Army National Guard Band, “The Band of The Nation’s Capital”. He served as the principal French Hornist from July of 1989 until August of 2005. He served in the U. S. Armed Forces for 29 years until his retirement in July of 2007. Roger was the first African-American French Hornist in the history of the United States to become a member of one of the major service bands.