Maria Thompson Corley - Soulscapes 2 - Piano Music by Women of African Descent (2021)

Eleanor Alberga began composing at age 10. Also a gifted pianist, she won the Royal Schools of Music Scholarship for the West Indies, subsequently choosing to study voice and piano at the Royal Academy of Music. Her lively, diverse music has been performed by artists and ensembles worldwide, including the BBC Symphony.

Emahoy Tsegué:Maryam Guèbrou was born into a wealthy family, all of whom were imprisoned during WW II. Prior to and after the war, Guèbrou studied violin performance. She has composed numerous pieces for violin and piano, and has recorded on the Éthiopiques label. Guèbrou’s music defies easy categorization. Sales of her scores support her youth:centered charity.

Nkeiru Okoye is best known for her opera, Harriet Tubman. A board member of Composers Now and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Okoye studied at Oberlin, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in composition, and at Rutgers, where she earned a PhD in theory and composition. Her eclectic music reflects the influences of her father’s Nigerian and mother’s African:American backgrounds.

Betty Jackson King received her first piano lessons from her mother. After earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Roosevelt University in piano and composition, she became a public school music teacher and high school choral director. King’s expert arrangements of spirituals have been performed by numerous world:class artists, including soprano Kathleen Battle. A nationally:known clinician and performer, she was the president of the National Association of Negro Musicians from 1979 to 1984.

Julia Perry studied with notable composers, including Dallapiccola and Boulanger. She earned a Master’s degree from Westminster Choir College, and was the recipient of two Guggenheim fellowships; she also attended Juilliard. After a paralytic stroke in 1971, Perry learned to compose with her left hand. The Prelude recorded here is her only piece for solo piano.

Joyce Solomon Moorman holds a Doctorate from Columbia University, and also did graduate work in music at Rutgers, Sarah Lawrence College and the Columbia:Princeton Electronic Music Center. Her works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonia, and others. A Summer Afternoon in South Carolina is a programmatic sonata that uses a 12:tone row.

Tania León is a composer, conductor, educator and advocate for the arts. Her numerous achievements include being instrumental in founding the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series and Composers Now, among many others. In 2021, León added a Pulitzer Prize to her list of honors.

Krystal Grant Folkestad majored in piano and Spanish at Vanderbilt University. After receiving a PhD in composition from Stony Brook University, she taught composition and music theory in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia. She is a champion of the work of under:represented composers.

Errollyn Wallen left the Dance Theater of Harlem to study composition at the University of London and Cambridge. A composer and filmmaker, Wallen founded the enterprising Ensemble X. Her works, which include opera, chamber music, songs and more, have been performed in noted venues, including the Proms and Wigmore Hall.

Mary Lou (Scruggs) Williams began playing jazz professionally in grade school. Williams’ greatest influence was Lovie Austin. She played in Andy Kirk’s band, Clouds of Joy, from the 1920s to 1941. After marrying John Williams, a member of Kirk’s band, she formed her own successful ensemble, composing and arranging popular charts.

Judith Baity is a successful accompanist, piano instructor and composer, with a large catalog of works that include instrumental and orchestral works, choral and jazz pieces, contemporary gospel and children’s music.

Shirley Thompson is a professor, violinist and composer. More...