Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in Croydon, England on August 15, 1875. His father was a doctor from Sierra Leone, but he could not practice medicine in England and had to return home around the time Samuel was born. Samuel grew up in England with his mother. His talent for music was noticed early by important figures in British music. One of his main teachers was Charles Villiers Stanford. With encouragement from Edward Elgar, he was asked to write a piece for a festival in 1898. This work, "Ballade in A Minor," was a great success. Later, a trilogy based on"Hiawatha,"composedbetween1898and1900,helpedbuildhisreputation. In1899,Coleridge-TaylorheardAmericanspiritualsongsforspiritualsbytheFiskJubileesingersduringtheirtourandbecameinterestedinAfrican-Americanfolkmusic.Hestartedusingtheseelementsinhisownwork.African-American music fans responded by forming the Coleridge-Taylor Society in 1902 to perform and support his music in America. They invited him to come for tours in 1904, 1906, and 1910. On his first trip, he led the Marine Band and the Society Chorus and met President Teddy Roosevelt. His later tours took him to many cities in the Midwest and East coast of the US. Back in England, Coleridge-Taylor had a busy musical life. He wrote music, taught at Trinity College of Music, and was a conductor for many choral groups. He also conducted in the well-known Handel Society from 1904 until he died. Sadly, he passed away on September 1, 1912, from pneumonia, which came from working too hard.