Noah Ryder was best known for his many arrangements
of Negro spirituals and piano compositions. As a college student and later
as head of the theory department and director of the Hampton Institute Choir,
he wrote music for many choral ensembles. The Deep River Boys, organized
by Ryder, had international fame, and his composition "Sea Suite for Male
Voice" won a prize in a Navy competition (1946). Ryder received the B.A.
in 1935 vat Hampton Institute and the M.M. at the University of Michigan.
Some of his compositions include: "Five Sketches for Piano," "This Ol'Hammer,"
"Who'll be a Witness," "Hear the Lambs A-Crying," and "Gonna Journey Away."

Source:
Perkins Holly, Ellistine. Biographies of Black Composers and Songwriters;
A Supplementary Textbook. Iowa:Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1990.