Clarence Cameron White (Aug. 10, 1880 - June 30, 1960) was an African-American composer, teacher, and violinist. During his time, he was considered the foremost violinist of his race. 

Born in Tennessee, White relocated to Oberlin, Ohio when he was only 2 years old, after his father passed away. His mother had studied violin there, and the family took up residence with her parents. Her father gave young White his violin, and a few years later, the family moved to Washington D.C. There he met violinist and composer Will Marion Cook, and began taking lessons from him; it was during this time that he decided he would make music his career. Later on he would take lessons from Joseph Douglass, noted violinist and grandson of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and also studied at Oberlin, and the Hartford School of Music. He traveled to Europe as well, studying in London with the great composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

White kept busy performing, teaching, and composing, and contributed articles on pedagogy and violin history to the Negro Musical Journal. White was influenced by African American and other African diaspora musical traditions and styles, and often quoted spirituals and arranged them, such as Bandanna Sketches, a four movement arrangement of spirituals for violin and piano.

The first movement is titled, "Chant", and is an arrangement of the spiritual "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"; and White's writing is simple, but profound. The violin plays the simple, but sorrowful melody, and then goes in to double stops at two different points, but the melodic material is where this movement shines, rather than in technical feats. The piano part is light, but supports the thematic material well.

Movement two, "Lament" is an arrangement of "I Am Troubled in Mind" and again, the melodic material is of utmost importance.  After the main melodic statement, it then gets embellished upon slightly, by playing up an octave, with some quick runs, and double stops.

Movements Three, "Slave Song: Many Thousand Gone" and four, "Negro Dance: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" are also arrangements of spirituals (sadly we don't have videos of them to show.)

Sadly, we cannot find an recordings to share, either---we hope that changes in the near future!