Nine Noteworthy Black Composers

Nine names you need to know! Each composer is introduced with a quick-read Bio, brief Composer Connections facts, and a Listening Lab identifying important works and key elements to discover in each musical selection. Students may check what they learned on the Review page, and then connect with the composer’s life and times through Reflection Questions and a culminating Writing Prompt. Present these personalities individually throughout the year, or explore them all in February to celebrate Black History Month. This digital book includes fillable answer fields for onscreen use or print and copy as a classroom handout. Composers include: Joseph Bologne, Scott Joplin, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis, and Rhiannon Giddens. Reviewed and edited for cultural sensitivity and relevance by Daysha J. P. Underwood.