The Composers Behind the Music of The B7
Discover the Voices Behind the Blacknificent 7: A Deeper Look at the Composers' Impact
In our last post, we explored the origins of the Blacknificent 7 and how they came together as a group. Today, we turn the focus to the composers themselves—delving into their personal stories, backgrounds, and the unique perspectives they bring to their work. Get to know these 7 leading Black American composers.
DAMIEN GETER
(Resonance Commissioned Composer)
DAVE RAGLAND
(Resonance Commissioned Composer)
Dave Ragland is a four-time EMMY-nominated composer, vocalist, pianist, and conductor, praised as “über-talented” by The Nashville Scene. He won First Place in The Atlanta Opera’s 96-Hour Opera Composition Competition and received the 2022 Adams-Owens Composition Award. Ragland’s work has earned the 2021 American Prize in Composition and two Midsouth Regional EMMY nominations for his role in Nashville Opera’s ONE VOTE WON.
Ragland is collaborating on Davis' opera Ligeia Mare and created the operas CHARLIE AND THE WOLF and BEATRICE for Cedar Rapids and Portland Opera. His compositions are featured in Karen Slack’s African Queens project. As Artistic Director of Inversion Vocal Ensemble, Ragland has toured regionally, performing with top artists. He’s also worked with the Nashville Symphony, Nashville Ballet, and Memphis Symphony, and was the 2020 GRADY-RAYAM Composer-in-Residence.
Resonance Ensemble is thrilled to commission Dave Ragland’s latest work—a third from the B7! Portland audiences will be the first to hear the WORLD PREMIERE of Seven Prayers: Hope for Everyone, performed live by Resonance Ensemble on Sunday, November 17, 2024!
Damien Geter is an acclaimed composer and bass-baritone whose work blends classical music with styles from the Black diaspora to promote social justice. A Composer-in-Residence at the Richmond Symphony, Geter is also the Interim Music Director and Artistic Advisor at Portland Opera. His compositions, including An African American Requiem, American Apollo, and Loving v. Virginia, have garnered praise for their powerful vocal writing. This season, he debuts works with Des Moines Metro Opera, Virginia Opera, and the Richmond Symphony.
In addition to his composing, Geter has performed on operatic stages and television, with recent credits including the role of William Still in Sanctuary Road and his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in Porgy and Bess. A frequent concert performer, Geter has sung with the Richmond Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and at The Kennedy Center. He owns DG Music and is the author of Music in Context: An Examination of Western European Music Through a Sociopolitical Lens.
For the past 10 years, we have had the honor of working with Damien in various capacities, including as Artistic Advisor, Board member, vocalist, and commissioned composer. A dear friend of Resonance, we are proud of his achievements and the impact he continues to make in the world of music.
Resonance has had the great honor to perform many projects from Damien Geter over the years - and will be featuring FOUR of these fantastic collaborations on our upcoming album, Safe Harbor. Including this video he composer for our Under the Overpass video series. You can check out more about his story with Resonance on this blog post, or peruse our Commission Stories gallery for more on our collaborations with Damien!
JESSIE MONTGOMERY
Jessie Montgomery, named Musical America’s 2023 Composer of the Year, is a GRAMMY®-winning composer, violinist, and educator known for blending classical music with vernacular styles, improvisation, and social themes. Her works, described as "turbulent, wildly colorful, and exploding with life" (The Washington Post), are regularly performed by top orchestras worldwide. As the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Mead Composer-in-Residence since 2021, her recent premieres include Hymn for Everyone and Five Freedom Songs. Upcoming projects include a work for the New York Philharmonic and her final commissions with the CSO. Montgomery’s accolades include the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and she currently teaches at Vanderbilt University, Bard College, and The New School.
CARLOS SIMON
GRAMMY®-nominated Carlos Simon blends gospel, jazz, and neo-romanticism in his music, spanning concert pieces, film scores, and liturgical compositions. His works have been commissioned by leading institutions, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and LA Master Chorale. As Composer-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center and inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony, Simon’s recent premieres include brea(d)th, a powerful response to systemic oppression. Nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY for Requiem for the Enslaved, Simon’s music reflects heritage, identity, and social justice. He also performs internationally and teaches at Georgetown University.
SHAWN E. OKPEBHOLO
GRAMMY®-nominated composer Shawn E. Okpebholo, known for his reimagined Negro spirituals album Lord, How Come Me Here?, is celebrated for his "devastatingly beautiful" music (Washington Post). His compositions, described as "fresh and fearless" (New York Times), have earned him numerous accolades, including the Inaugural Leslie Adams-Robert Owens Composition Award and commissions from the Chicago Symphony, Tanglewood, and the Kennedy Center. His art songs have been performed by top opera companies, and his chamber music graces prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall. Okpebholo’s music is also featured on three GRAMMY®-nominated albums. Currently, he serves as Professor of Composition at Wheaton College and Composer-in-Residence with the Lexington Philharmonic.
JASMINE BARNES
(Resonance Commissioned Composer)
Jasmine Arielle Barnes is a versatile composer and vocalist whose music has been performed worldwide. Specializing in writing for the voice, she has composed five operas, embracing various styles and instrumentation. Raised in Baltimore City, she earned both her BA and MA in Music from Morgan State University, where she became the first composition major. Barnes previously led the Composition and Jazz Voice departments at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX. She is passionate about contributing to the arts and teaching the next generation of musicians.
Resonance Ensemble has had the pleasure of performing Jasmine’s work multiple times in recent years, including Normal Never Was, co-commissioned in 2020 as part of our Commissions for Now series. The piece will also be featured on our upcoming album, Safe Harbor. Watch this video from a 2023 performance of it here and read the full story on the commission here.
JOEL THOMPSON
Joel Thompson is a composer, conductor, pianist, and educator, best known for the choral work, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed (2018 American Prize for Choral Composition) and his recent opera, The Snowy Day (which Portland audiences just recently enjoyed through Portland Opera this past spring!).
Thompson’s works have been performed by esteemed ensembles such as the The New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Master Chorale, Los Angeles Master Chorale, EXIGENCE, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Currently a doctoral student at the Yale School of Music, Thompson was also a 2017 post-graduate fellow in Arizona State University’s Ensemble Lab/Projecting All Voices Initiative and a composition fellow at the 2017 Aspen Music Festival and School, where he studied with composers Stephen Hartke and Christopher Theofanidis and won the 2017 Hermitage Prize.
Thompson taught at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta from 2015 to 2017, and also served as Director of Choral Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Andrew College from 2013 to 2015. Thompson has a B.A. in Music and an M.M. in Choral Conducting, both from Emory University.
Resonance has been fortunate to perform Joel Thompson’s music on several of our programs, including our recent spring program AMENDMENTS: RIGHTING OUR WRONGS, where we featured two of his stunning choral works inspired by Langston Hughes texts: Hold Fast to Dreams and The Caged Bird Sings for Freedom. Check them out in the videos below.
JOIN US FOR THE BLACKNIFICENT 7!
Single tickets for this event are on sale now through the Alberta Rose Theatre. Doors will open at 1:30pm, with the program starting at 2pm. For full event information, including the programmed works, visit the event page linked here.
WHAT: THE BLACKNIFICENT 7
WHEN: Sunday, November 17th | 2:00 PM
WHERE: Alberta Rose Theatre | 3000 NE Alberta St | Portland, OR | 97211
Read about this event by clicking here, or get your tickets below!
