The student-led music series ‘Voices Unheard’ aims to honor underrepresented contemporary composers
People recognize music composers and classical artists, such as Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach.
But what about female composers or composers of color?
According to Camille Jones, a senior violin performance major, female composers and composers of color’s music should be heard because they do not receive sufficient recognition or acknowledgment.
Jones curated “Voices Unheard: Celebrating Diverse Composers” in 2018. Her and fellow University of Maryland School of Music students felt a need to play more diverse music to accurately reflect the diverse student population.
Jones revealed that as a young girl, she was trained to play classical works that were dominated by white men, which made her feel as if she was not represented by the music.
“It really wasn’t until college where I was exposed to more diverse music,” Jones said. “I think that it affects your mentality as a musician because you first think that there’s specific standards of what is the norm in the classical music industry.”
“Voices Unheard” made its second return on Saturday, Nov. 9 in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and all of the songs featured were contemporary 21st-century works.
Jones pinpointed the significance of including the composer Carlos Simon in the program.
Simon’s works utilize influences of jazz, gospel and neo-romanticism. His song titled “An Elegy (A cry from the grave)” highlights police brutality and is described as sorrowful with strong lyricism, yet the song has moments of extreme hope, according to a description on the screen inside the venue.
Lauren Holmes, a junior violin performance major, played alongside Jones for Simon’s piece. After the performance, Holmes stated that she hoped the audience valued the deep meaning of Simon’s work.
“It represented a lot of these young black men, who’ve been wrongfully murdered by people in authority...I think the music really reflected that...the sounds and everything in it,” Holmes said.
Casey Schreck, a sophomore clarinet performance and English major, said that concerts and performances, such as “Voices Unheard,” are necessary because of the “sheer amount of overrepresentation of old, dead white men in classical music.”
Schreck expressed that female composers and composers of color should be celebrated.
Schreck mentioned that her dear friend, student composer Christen Holmes, composed “Summer Showers” for “Voices Unheard.” Schreck emphasized that her friend’s works should be performed more often.
“We have new music concerts here, but we still have a lot of white composers on the new music concerts. I’m glad that Camille did this to promote this specific group of composers,” Schreck said.
To learn more about “Voices Unheard” and other contemporary composers featured from the event, click here.