Northwestern's Music School Aims to Shine Light on Black Composers
Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music is highlighting the work of Black composers with a new project. WDCB's Gary Zidek has the story.
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“I said, what could we do that is actually real, that would endure beyond the political moment of the present, realizing that we should have been engaging music of Black composers to a greater extent in the past and to works of other people of color in the past . And use our capabilities, our knowledge as music scholars to actually do something positive, that will enrich us, that will enrich our school, that will improve our education and hopefully reach out to the public with an educational message.” - Drew Davies, chair of Northwestern’s Department of Music Studies & associate professor of musicology, talking about the origins of the Black Composer Showcase.
(left) Drew Davies, chair of Northwestern’s Department of Music Studies & associate professor of musicology and Karen Brunssen, co-chair of Northwestern’s Department of Music Performance & professor of voice and opera.
Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music has created a new project that aims to increase awareness of classical composers of color. The school’s Departments of Music Performance and Music Studies came together to create a three-part Black Composer Showcase series that features student performances and scholarly background information. And now the series is available for anyone to watch online through Northwestern’s Davee Media Library.
The Ryan Center for the Musical Arts on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston
