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African American Women Composers - Exhibit

Exhibit - Adams Library, Level 3

African-American Women Classical Composers 

March 2022

iStockPhoto.com | GeorgePeters

– African American Women Classical Composers –

The theme of this month’s exhibit at James P. Adams Library, developed from materials in our collections and from openly accessible materials from around the web, emphasizes creating increased awareness of the works of a select group of African-American women composers both contemporary, living composers as well as those of the recent past.

Curated by Christopher Cassaday (BA/English ’18; URI, MLIS ’22)

with contributions by Isaiah Hopper (BA/Music ’21)

and with support from Prof. Patricia (Tish) Brennan, Department of Reference & Research Support, James P. Adams Library, Library Liaison, Department of Music, Theatre, & Dance

Overview

“For over one hundred years, black women have expressed themselves through musical composition creating a variety of both vocal and instrumental original works. They have composed solo songs, choral works, varied chamber works, symphonies, and operas.” [Green, Mildred Denby (2006) “Composers” in Black women in America (2nd edition) Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005.