BLACK COMPOSER MINIATURE CHALLENGE
An anthology of 30 second pieces for soprano-cello duo and cello solo by 18 Black/African Diasporic composers.
A Note About Performance Rights
Should you perform and/or record any of the works included in this anthology, please contact the composer directly as performance rights and/or other licensing fees may apply.
A Note from the Editor
The scores in this anthology show diversity in color, texture, text-setting, and creating tiny-yet-bold sonic worlds. All scores remain as true to the original as possible, with some formatting changes to accommodate this volume. All original poetry appears with each song, either at the beginning or the end of the score.
Special Thanks
Many thanks are due to Anthony R. Green for engraving these scores, all of the participating poets from Castle of our Skins' Black Poet Miniature Challenge, and all the contributing composers for their creativity and fellowship. Castle of our Skins' Black Composer Miniature Challenge 3.0 project was supported by New Music USA’s New Music Organizational Development Fund.
About Castle of our Skins
Castle of our Skins is a Black arts institution that centers Black music, culture, and history through people, programming, and partnerships. In classrooms, concert halls, and beyond, Castle of our Skins invites exploration into Black heritage and culture, spotlighting both unsung and celebrated figures of past and present. For more information, please visit www.CastleSkins.org
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Composers
The Poets
Solo Cello
Julian E. Brown : What I Should Have Said
Kathryn Patricia Cobbler : This is Our Resistance
Kennedy Taylor Dixon : to keep me
Nantenaina Andriamorasata : The forest
Soprano And Cello Duo
Autumn Maria Reed : I Throw Words Not Hands
Dani Osoba : Morning Tides
Ebun Oguntola : Circles
Erick Odiweric : Life is Not One Thing
Isaiah Chapman : Inner-course
Jessica T. Carter : ...how strange...
Lauren McCall : A Brief History of the Fist
Marcus Rock : Half Baked
Monthati Masebe : Mifhululu
Naamia Rivera : Tired of Hiding
Rodrigo Gonçalves de Sousa : Exhaling Magic
Sharon Udoh : regret
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Vanessa E. Hudson : She's Human, too!
Willie Alexander III : Here Before
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THE COMPOSERS
Autumn Maria Reed is a Wisconsin-based composer and Berklee alumna. She has composed library and theatrical music and in 2022, debuted two pieces: a symphonic work "Exodus From Extinction" for Black Diaspora Symphony Orchestra and a string quartet "Yankadi” at LunART Festival.
Dani Osoba is an early career artist from Kent, UK. After graduating from the University of Hull in 2022, she has been focused on creating a well-rounded career, including composing, songwriting, performance and community arts. Dani’s pieces have been hailed as “mellow”, “soulful” and “like cloud-watching”.
Ebun Oguntola is described by NPR as a “curious and enterprising young artist.” She has delved into composition, conducting, songwriting, production, and multi-instrumentalism. In 2021, Ebun was featured on From the Top, where she was interviewed by Kevin Olusola from Pentatonix, on NPR.
Erick Odiweric is an African composer from Nairobi, Kenya. He is the founder/director of the Score Side Publications. His interest and roles greatly lie on music composition, predominantly choral and instrumental music. Select published works include Safari, Shepherd's Space, and City of God.
Isaiah Chapman is a composer and violist with six degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of North Texas. He currently freelances, composes, and studies Library and Information Science at Simmons University.
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Jessica T. Carter is a Black American composer, violinist, mezzo-soprano, and educator from Indiana who is swiftly making a name for herself. Described as evocative (Aspire Magazine) and lyrical (Apricity Magazine), Jessica specializes in concert music, film scoring, and musical theatre.
Julian E. Brown is a Chicago-based composer with an aim to write music that people will enjoy listening to and that musicians will enjoy playing. Beginning his artistic expression as a lyric poet, Julian's works often favor subtle melodies.
THE COMPOSERS
Kathryn Patricia Cobbler is a loop pedal violist, improviser, composer, and educator. Named a CBC Trailblazer in 2021 and a recipient of an Ottawa Arts Council’s Emerging Artist awards, she has been featured in Canada’s most notable Concert Series including Chamberfest and NUMUS Concert series.
Kennedy Taylor Dixon is a violist, composer, and scholar pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Composition at Princeton University. Described as a “vibrant musical voice,” her work has been heard at the New Music on the Point, Bang on a Can, Electronic Music Midwest, and International Alliance for Women in Music.
Lauren McCall is a composer and music educator from Atlanta. She is an alumnus of the Vermont College of Fine Arts where she studied music composition, and now studies music technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She writes works for chamber ensembles, electronics, and voice.
studies at Birmingham Conservatoire. He has composed music for the Cheltenham Music Festival and students from the China Central Conservatory, and was selected as a Composer in the Britten Pears Young
is an emerging music composer, producer, multiinstrumentalist and actor. They have a deep love for African indigenous knowledge and turning to ancient systems to solve modern issues. They use all their mediums to tell stories of forgotten histories and hidden archives.
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is a black/hispanic composer and flutist from Brooklyn. They went to Laguardia High School and the Juilliard MAP, and study Flute and Composition with Valerie Coleman at The New School. They are interested in writing inclusive and accessible work that address issues with today's society.
is a songwriter, music composer and performer from Antananarivo-Madagascar who uses the stage name Vakamiarina. Nantenaina was the 2nd prize winner of the 2021 Merck Foundation (Africa) Song awards for the work More than a mother.
THE COMPOSERS
Rodrigo Gonçalves de Sousa is a Brazilian black writer, poet and composer born in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Sousa played tenor saxophone, piano, and began studying music composition in 2018. He studied music theory with conductor Josué Campos, and music orchestration with composer Jonathan Peters.
Sharon Udoh is a gay, first-generation Nigerian-American composer, pianist, arranger, bandleader, and vocalist. Her work abandons genre and is expansive, focusing on human complexity, order within chaos, and emotional connection. She sometimes takes the stage as Counterfeit Madison.
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Vanessa E. Hudson is a composer, violinist, and pianist from Manchester, CT. She studies Composition and Music Theory with a minor in arts leadership at Boston University. She also serves on the E-Board for BU Music Engagement, a service club that provides free music lessons to students in K-8 schools.
Willie Alexander III is a multi-genre composer and performer. He has composed for Kanye West, SKIMS, and Vanessa Beecroft; with performances at the Lincoln Center, Davies Symphony Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and Art Basel Miami. Alexander joined the NY Philharmonic as a full time chorus singer.
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THE POETS
Emmanuel is a writer, musician, and speaker living in the greater Boston area. He was born in California, but spent his formative years in Baltimore, Maryland. His writing and music is centered in trying to find deeper connection within himself and the world around him.
Aliyah Muhammad is an emerging Oakland poet and Mills College graduate. She received a fellowship to attend The Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, attended the Rooted and Written Conference with the Writers Grotto SF, and taught at the Oakland Downtown Senior Center.
Danie Etienne is a Haitian-American story teller, movement author, and film maker. From the expressive nature of Haitian communication to the myriad of cultural celebrations, she learned that Konpa and the social worlds of music and dance were integral to her ability to form close relationships.
Erika DeShay is an English teacher and lover of words. She has been writing poetry since she could formulate sounds. Her poem, Black Lives Matter, can be found in Spoken Black Girl magazine. When she’s not writing, she’s baking her love into pies. You can follow her at @deshaywrites on Instagram.
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FreeQuency is a storyteller, speaker, workshop leader and performing artist. Their work interrogates and occupies the in-between spaces of gender and geography while exploring the mundane nuances and stark contradictions of everyday existence under so called "post colonial" racialized capitalism.
Karen Hays is a retired professional educator of reading, writing, journalism, oratory, speech, and language arts. Words are Karen's joy, delight, and bane intertwined when dream painting visions are obscured by the stark witness of the blank page.
Len Lawson is the author of Negro Asylum for the Lunatic Insane (Main Street Rag, 2023), Chime (Get Fresh Books, 2019), and the chapbook Before the Night Wakes You (Finishing Line Press, 2017). A South Carolina native, he is currently Assistant Professor of English at Newberry College.
THE POETS
Lily Dove started her journey as a writer, starting off with short stories and creative poems. She grew to have such a passion for writing that in February of 2022, she performed a poem about the inequities of healthcare for Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu’s We are Boston 2022; From Dream to Action event.
Michael Divine (Ashton Michael Lee) is an educator, poet, storyteller, and healer from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Ashton created a healing tool to teach folx ways to think independently called The Student of Life. His series targeted critical life lessons through a “power thought” and storytelling.
Nailah Nombeko is a New York based composer/pianist. She has composed for major artists such as opera star Karen Slack and the Ethel Quartet. Her works have been performed at the DiMenna Center, Symphony Space, Columbia University and on the Portland Opera’s concert series.
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What I Should Have Said
This Is Our Resistance
KathrynPatriciaCobbler
Directlyafterplayingthelastnote,theperformerrecites: "No Justice, No Peace" (mp)
The piece entitled ThisIsOurResistanceis a melodic anthem. A sounding refrain that takes the performers and listeners on a reflective journey inward. Ending with the words "no justice, no peace" this short work reminds us of the strength that comes when we join our voices and our actions to help better our communities.
NoteToPerformer:
I have included a few dynamic markings within the part; feel free to interpret the musical line in the score as it resonates with your artistic expression.
Program Notes for
I Throw Words Not Hands I slay with wordplay. I don't hit with my fists, I pummel with my wits. But my sentences assay. Who the best? Who still standing? Who? Who
~ Karen Hays
Cancer season study the tides of the ocean shored by your skin each ripple, each wave ~ FreeQuency * *Snares,w/snareson:circularbrushw/brushesthroughout
orrubpapertogetherthroughout;m.19:dimalniente
textbyFreeQuency musicbyDaniOsoba
I stress standing still and worry in circles
I stress standing still
And worry in circles
There is no sight of light
No matter where I look
I try my best to take the best steps
I
But although I try to move forward I get stuck
standing still and worry in circles
Life is Not One Thing
course
Two Miniature Songs for Soprano and Violoncello
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Moderato, in swinging and sultry fashion ; = 100 q q
(swing 's)e
Cello
Inner course
Lustful tongues speak lies when under our spell or is ... is it just energy? Reflections. We have a way of rectifying the soul.
~ Michael Divine
A heap of me all burgundy Black and brackish laid out in the street. How
~ Aliyah Muhammad
A Brief History of the Fist
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A Brief History of the Fist
One raised fist means soul power. One swinging fist means Fightthepower.Two fists up mean a fight for power. No fists up, all the power.
~ Len Lawson
Note to performer: the soprano may sing on any vowel.
Thispieceisemulatingatraditionalbowinstrumentcalledumrhubhe.Thesinglestringinstrumenthastheabilitytobringoutmost ofthetonesI'vewrittenhere.It'squitefascinatingandIwouldsuggestperformerslistentovideosofthelateMadosini'swen' use Goli togetasenseofthesound.Theopeningsectionisatmosphericandbreath like.Thisistosonicallyteleportonetoaspacewhere umrhubhe isusuallyplayed:outdoorsinopenfieldsorinsidethehutofatraditionalhealer.Inbothinstanceswind,breathandnature areintrinsicelements.
MonthatiMasebe
Tired of Hiding
Six of Swords
I'm tired of hiding my teeth. I laugh so loudly my body dances
2023 by Naamia Rivera
Exhaling Magic
Regret
After the door closed with deep regret she realized he was worth more alive ~ Nailah Nombeko
textbyNailahNombeko musicbySharonUdoh
~ Danie Etienne
Here Before
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