People, Locations, Episodes

Noah Ryder, Choral Conductor, and Educator born

Noah Ryder

Noah Ryder was born on this date in 1914. He was a Black choral conductor, singer, and educator.

From Nashville, TN., Noah Francis Ryder soon moved to Cincinnati, OH. There, his stepmother and his father raised him. During this time, he learned piano, other instruments, and African American spirituals. Ryder played in his high school orchestra, formed a jazz ensemble, and in 1931 entered Hampton Institute. At Hampton, he studied performance, composition, and conducting with Nathaniel Dett and Clarence Cameron White. Ryder also formed a jazz group and a quartet called the Deep River Boys.

In 1935, following graduation, he held three teaching positions throughout North Carolina. Handy Brothers Publishing began to issue his arrangements while he was choir director at this Alma Mater.

In 1944, he began a two-year service with the Navy, after which he completed his master's degree at the University of Michigan, culminating with heading the music department at the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College. From 1947 until 1962, Ryder conducted college and church choirs and community glee clubs until illness ended this activity. Noah Ryder died in 1964.

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