On December 10 and 11 at Belleville Congregational Church in Newburyport, MA., my 3-movement cantata “Guidelines” for SATB choir, treble choir, and chamber orchestra was premiered by the Newburyport Choral Society in their “In Terra Pax” concert, conducted by Ryan Turner. I couldn’t attend due to commitments at home. I heard it was fun to sing, which means the world to me.
Conducting
Ollie NOT watching his sister play Mary in the NUUC Holiday pageant
What a wonderful time I’ve had directing the upper school choirs at Harvard-Westlake and the pageant players at Neighborhood Church. Making music with these young people really put me in the holiday spirit!
Thank you so much to everyone who supported our Neighborhood Church Choir Fundraiser concert on December 16th. The concert was a big hit, and proceeds exceeded our expectations. Thanks to the generosity of concert supporters, we’ve raised about 2/3 of what we need in order to fully fund our Carnegie Hall trip in March. More to come soon!
Ollie’s Corner
Hope your holidays are warm, memorable, and full of joy!
My settings of Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis are now available from Oxford University Press:
I am honored to share that my Magnificat was also included in the new Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers.If you need a Magnificat for your Advent service music this year, check out mine!
Upcoming events
SUNDAY, December 4 at 7pm
Olive Rehearsal Hall, Colburn School, Los Angeles
Tonality performs my composition Lady in Blue as part of their concert called “Right to Heal,” which takes a broad look at healthcare and its inequalities.
Rugby Auditorium Harvard-Westlake Upper School Campus, Studio City
Zanaida conducts the Harvard-Westlake Wolverine Chorus, Bel Canto, Chamber Singers, and Jazz Singers in their joint winter choral concert called “What Blooms in Darkness,” featuring works by Lili Boulanger, Shawn Kirchner, Herbert Howells, Williametta Spencer and more.
SATURDAY, December 10 at 7:30pm SUNDAY December 11 at 2pm
Belleville Congregational Church, Newburyport, MA
The Newburyport Choral Society presents the world premiere of my composition Guidelines as part of their winter concert called “In Terra Pax.” Guidelines is a commissioned setting of the poetry of Newburyport poet Rhina Espaillat.
(Revised flyer updated 11/29/22, with easier-to-scan QR code and additional instructions. Thanks, everyone!)
FRIDAY, December 16 at 7pm
Come hear music that will get you in the holiday spirit and support our church choir’s trip to sing Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast with Zanaida at Carnegie Hall! Featuring Christmas favorites such as Star in the East, The Christmas Song, Carol of the Bells, and sing-along favorites, plus a sample of the music to be performed at Carnegie Hall on our tour!
Soloists include Miriam Adhanom, Adrian Bañuelos, Michael Fausto, Carla Jaime Perez, Cesáreo Pérez and Zanaida Robles, with pianist Wells Lang. Suggested donation $20, Or use the QR code to support the trip even if you can’t attend the concert!
For Fun
I had so much fun as the clinician for the C4 Festival in Santa Clara, CA. We worked our butts off, and wow did it pay off!
I love roller coasters! Glad I got to celebrate Nat’s birthday with her at Knott’s Berry Farm this month.
I have a passion for help to grow communities of sacred music lovers and music makers. I love what I do, and it takes significant time and resources to sustain this work. Your support is what makes this work sustainable for me. I truly treasure the notes of thoughtfulness and encouragement I receive from newsletter readers on a regular basis – thank you!
As I work to find ways to be of greater service to this community, I wonder if you would consider supporting this enterprise financially. With the future launch of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Singers as a non-profit organization, I’m beginning to seek sponsors and monthly supporters to help me bring you more concerts, music-making opportunities, news, and new music. I am expanding my work as music director, composer, and advocate for socio-cultural and spiritual connection through music. If you know someone who loves sacred music, please share my newsletter and website with them. I’m honored to partner with you in connecting our community of sacred music lovers. Thanks for helping me grow!
Composition
A trip to Orlando FL for a few days was just what I needed to visit with dear friends and spend some quality time composing. I made some good progress on commissions for Newburyport Choral Society, National Concerts, and Vox Femina. I’m excited to see how everything turns out next month.
Pictured: Tiffany exhibit at the Morse Museum, a Korean Corn Dog, and kayaking in a Florida swamp.
Conducting
Students from the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, Cal Berkeley, and St. Mary’s College will gather for the C4 Festival on Saturday, November 5 at Santa Clara University in San Jose. I’m so excited to fly up and be their guest clinician for the day. How exciting it will be to hear what they sound like on music by Coleridge-Taylor and by yours truly. Many thanks to directors Scot Hanna-Weir, Julie Ford, and Rebecca Seeman for the invitation!
I wasn’t quite sure what to share with you this month, as there’s just so much going on! I’ve been working through recordings and videos from this summer, and I’ll be sharing those on social media. (Are you following me?)
I’m waiting on copyright confirmation for five soon-to-be published works, and so excited about launching that cluster of new pieces. But with a new school year, a new “season” starting at church, and so many exciting projects coming up, I might need a minute, so this newsletter is a big “stay tuned”. Here’s a big piece:
Save the date!
Busy and Happy
There’s lots going on right now. Several performances, residencies, and projects are on the horizon. I’ll keep you posted. In the mean time check out this amazing wild guava tree that spontaneously sprung in out yard. The fruit is REALLY sweet and fragrant. I feel blessed that this special tree chose our home as a growing place.
I’m also reading a lot, so there seem to be stacks of books everywhere!
Ollie’s Corner
Ollivander does the laundry!
Ollie has his very own technique for household chores, but we’re always grateful for his adorable attempts to “help”:
The gorgeous environment at Yosemite’s ECCO Retreat Center made this conference even more special. Meeting friends, hearing music and sharing these beautiful surroundings together made it far more than just work!
Not my picture, but isn’t Yosemite gorgeous?
Conducting
On August 12, we performed The Sacred Choral Music of Coleridge-Taylor and Robles. I discovered that conducting my own compositions can be thrilling (not just scary!). I couldn’t have been more pleased with the evening. (Photo by Adon Alonzo)
Conducting “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast” on Sunday August 14 with my Neighborhood Church summer choir and with Katie Eames at the piano was definitely a summer highlight for me. I loved having 3 teenagers in the group!; my own daughter and two Harvard-Westlake students sang with us. It was transformative to perform this work in the context of a church service intended to confront cultural appropriation and center the voices of Native American culture bearers. We look forward to bringing this kind of depth to our performance at Carnegie Hall in March 2023. (Photo by Yolanda Mitchell West)
Composition
Now that this year’s Coleridge-Taylor Celebration has ended, I turn my attention to the four composition commissions I’ve been neglecting over the past two weeks! Thank goodness the deadlines are spread apart over the next six months. Of the four projects, the two multi-movement pieces on which I’m working right now are particularly challenging.
Y’all need to pray for me.
For Fun
A visit the the Broad Museum for the Murakami exhibit was well worth the time spent sitting in traffic on a Thursday night. Plus, I got to go to the sound bath performance that was part of the exhibit on the 2nd floor of the museum – so refreshing, so resonant, so cool!
Ollie’s corner
Ollie’s official headshot for August, and Ollie diving into his new job, guarding the clean laundry:
