African Heritage Month Composers

This month, and all throughout the year, the choir and I love to feature organ, choral and piano music by African heritage composers. At the start of February, you heard piano compositions by the great Canadian pianist, Oscar Peterson. Last Sunday featured “Give Me Jesus” by Marques L. A. Garrett, born in 1984; a very exciting African-American Choral Director and Composer in the present day.

This Sunday and the Sunday following, you will hear organ and piano music by Florence Price (1887-1953), the first African-American female composer to have a symphony performed by an American professional orchestra.

This Sunday you will also hear a composition by Carl Haywood: the beloved melody “His eye is on the Sparrow”. Dr. Haywood is a tremendously respected church musician, choral composer, professor, adjudicator, and organ recitalist. I encourage you to do your own exploration on these composers and many others in the African heritage idiom.