Boston musicians on the Black composers to hear now
By A.Z. Madonna Globe Staff,Updated February 11, 2021, 12:41 p.m.
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Clockwise from upper left: Composers Florence Price, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Ignatius Sancho, Scott Joplin, and Twinkie Clark.Boston Globe composite
Last summer, as Black Lives Matter protests heated up the streets, it seemed like every American orchestra sent out press releases condemning racism â even those who regularly go multiple seasons without programming work by a single Black composer. With bewigged maestros occupying so many plinths in the pantheon of the Western classical canon, Black composers have long been treated as an afterthought or novelty by much of the concert-music world. But recently, a new wave of ensembles (and listeners) has begun to explore this music in earnest, treating it with the gravitas it has always deserved. Four local Black musicians with roots in the classical tradition spoke with the Globe about composers they think deserve more attention.