The Student Repertoire Commission Project seeks to expand our contributions to new, ageappropriate music by African diasporic composers for young learners. Previously, our work in this area included a partnership with Rising Tide Music Press and Boston Public School (20222025), through which we produced 16 new works for young musicians (six wind ensemble, six choir, and four string/guitar ensemble pieces).
As part of the project, Castle of our Skins will commission an African diasporic composer to create new works for young musicians from a youth music education partner (either a strings or choir program). The new composition will be accompanied by a culturally-responsive curriculum guide, developed by a Castle of our Skins teaching artist and taught to participating young musicians.
By the end of the academic year, the new composition will be performed and/or recorded by the youth music education partner at a concert of choice. After the final performance, both the composition and curriculum guide will be published and made globally available through Castle of our Skins’ online store.
The new compositions and accompanying curriculum aim to meet the following goals and objectives:
Provide educators with culturally responsive pedagogical tools and materials
Introduce and expose young musicians to a diverse range of contemporary African diasporic composers
Contribute to a growing catalogue of accessible music for young musicians across various musical styles.
Mirror the rich and culturally diverse landscape in America while helping emerging Black composers publish their works.
Facilitate creative thought and interaction with the themes present in each of the compositions.
About This Collection PerusalScore
Meet The Creatives
COMPOSER — Lilyanne Leccima
Lilyanne Olivia Leccima (b. 2002) is a violinist and composer based in Boston, MA. Her versatility is evident in every ensemble she writes for, from her modal jazz solo violin pieces to her string orchestra works. Her striking harmonic writing and enchanting lyricism are pillars of her style, enthralling every audience she encounters. Lilyanne’s current projects include solo violin and solo piano pieces, a piano quartet, and large-scale orchestral works.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPER — Maya Giles
Maya “Maestra” Giles is a violinist, teaching artist and music technologist based in Maryland. Holding a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and a Master of Music in Music Production, Technology and Innovation, she creates accessible space in classical music through her artist-scholar work at the intersection of performance, research, education, and innovative reinvention.
SCHOOL/EDUCATION PARTNER — Project STEP
Since 1982, Project STEP (String Training Education Program) has provided talented young musicians that identify with historically underrepresented groups in classical music with comprehensive music instruction. Project STEP envisions a world in which the classical music profession reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of our communities. They acknowledge and address the unique challenges that Black and Latino students can face as we nurture all of our students’ musical growth.
CASTLE OF OUR SKINS
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Castle of our Skins is a Black arts institution dedicated to fostering cultural curiosity and celebrating Black artistry through music. In classrooms, concert halls, and beyond, Castle of our Skins invites Black heritage and culture exploration, spotlighting both unsung and celebrated figures of past and present. Learn more about Castle of our Skins' educational and performing work by visiting www.Castleskins.org
Program Notes
Glimmering Labyrinth creates an enthralling and mystical picture of my inner world: a labyrinth connecting my thoughts, emotions, and experiences to the music I create. Commissioned by Castle Of Our Skins (COOS) and Project STEP’s collaborative partnership, this piece combines visual inspiration from the charoite gemstone and the musical influences of Black diasporic music and contemporary progressive rock. I imagine that in the heavy darkness of an endless maze, music is the ethereal light of luminescent gemstones peering through cracks in the walls. In an effort to expand the range of textures and utilize the versatility of the harp, Glimmering Labyrinth explores a few extended techniques in its opening. The foundation is gently established by the grounding low D of the cello and the whisper of violin and viola harmonics. I also experiment with the harp’s resonant timbre and brightness amidst the bowed strings’ middle register to create the piece’s mystical ambience. At the end of the piece, the blues-inspired melody in the 2nd violin and viola brings a somber and ambivalent end to the intense journey, illuminated by the brief sparkling cadenzas in the harp.
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In alignment with my desire to make harmonically expansive melodies and progressions, the piece explores the D Phrygian mode (D natural minor with an E-flat) and the octatonic scale, traversing through unforeseen twists and turns, both in notes and in time signatures. I often use tremolo and harmonics to create the “glimmers” cutting through darkness. It was quite difficult to start off with a thin, fragmented texture without clearly established harmony, but I challenged myself to express an unsettled feeling of isolation in my mind, which grows in intensity and layers of sound as time goes on. I hope that the listener is transported through a journey of finding their stability through an uncertain world.
Special thanks to Ruben McFarlane, Ian Saunders, and the Project STEP harp quintet, who welcomed my composition and ideas with open ears and minds. -Lilyanne Leccima
Glimmering Labyrinth
commissioned by Castle Of Our Skins for ProjectSTEP for Harp Quintet
harmonics played as written like a distant voice lightly tap body of harp with left hand
