Margaret Bonds (1913–1972) was an American composer and arranger, notably setting many texts by Langston Hughes (a close friend) and arranging African-American spirituals. When she was growing up, she lived in a home that had visits from Florence Price and Will Marion Cook. She studied piano and composition with Florence Price and William Dawson during […]
Equity
Songs of (re)Imagining: Amy Gordon
Amy Gordon, an LA-based composer, has a catalog of almost 40 choral works, including pieces for treble choirs and online performance. In addition to her compositional activity, she teaches theory and has created a theory-themed Escape Room game (called Escape Tone), available in both Easy and Intermediate for purchase on her website. This blog […]
Choral Music is a Celebration of What We Have in Common
While using our differences to our advantage. I have become very interested over the last three years in learning from people that see the world through lenses that rarely get amplified on social media or by large institutions. They seem to me, rightly or wrongly, as interesting BECAUSE they are different. The defier of stereotypes […]
Song of (re)Imagining: Modesta Bor
I was first introduced to Modesta Bor (1926–1998) by my friend, Dr. Nicholas Miguel. I was looking for public domain works that were written by women for treble or equal voices and that would fit the educational goals and skill level of the ensemble I was programming for. Modesta Bor was born in Venezuela, […]
Songs of (re)Imagining: Paul John Rudoi
I’ve been writing since June 2021. This is the first blog post in which I’ve interviewed or highlighted a cishet white male. “But Shannon, if this is a blog centering equity, why are you sharing the voice of a cishet white male?” Good question. Equity work needs to involve everyone. In particular, cishet white men […]
Songs of (Re)imagining: Mari Esabel Valverde and the Swedish Song
You may know composer Mari Isabel Valverde from her work “When Thunder Comes,” or “Patterns on the Snow,” which was an ACDA consortium from 2016. Many know Ms. Valverde from her music that connects to equity… or, perhaps because of one of her identities as Mexican-American or transgender. And yes, she is a leader in […]