Seven Prayers, Hope for Everyone. Meet the Blacknificent 7.
“Damien Geter, Jasmine Barnes, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Jessie Montgomery, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson are among the most exceptional artists of our time. To have just one of their works would be a highlight, but to feature all seven in one evening is truly extraordinary.”
Meet The Blacknificent 7: seven visionary composers whose works are reshaping the classical music landscape. With Grammy and Emmy awards and nominations, prestigious residencies, and acclaimed commissions to their names, the composers of B7 have written for orchestras, chamber ensembles, opera, and choirs worldwide. On Sunday, November 17, Resonance Ensemble proudly presents a concert curated by Damien Geter and featuring the choral works of all 7 members of this extraordinary collective. Portland audiences have a rare chance to experience the powerful choral music of The Blacknificent 7—all in one unforgettable evening.
from @blacknificentseven (IG)
Who are The Blacknificent 7?
The seven composers first connected in 2020 when artists began gathering online to support one another through the isolating times of the pandemic. The group—Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Jessie Montgomery, Joel Thompson, and Carlos Simon—quickly formed close bonds and as the world began reopening and in-person performances resumed, they continued to champion one another.
“We started as a group of like-minded friends, supporting each other and sharing experiences about being composers—and specifically Black composers,” said curator and longtime Resonance collaborator Damien Geter. “That connection grew, leading to our debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in December 2023.
For Shawn Okpebholo, B7 was nothing less than “life-giving” during a time of contagion-spurred isolation. “…understanding comes from being around people “who look like you.”
“We just want to make music that rings true to our individual voices," said composer Jasmine Barnes, "and continue to be the representation and change that we’ve always wanted to see.”
Guest composer Dave Ragland
Composer Dave Ragland to Attend for the World Premiere of Seven Prayers, Hope for Everyone
The Sunday afternoon concert features the world premiere of Seven Prayers, Hope for Everyone, a new choral work by Dave Ragland, commissioned by Resonance Ensemble for The Blacknificent 7. Ragland will be present for the premiere and will join Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon and Artistic Advisor Shohei Kobayashi for a post-concert discussion.
Join us at The Alberta Rose Theatre!
“This concert I’ve curated with Resonance will be special because it’s rare to have our choral music featured in one program.” Geter says. “Audiences have a chance to experience all of our work together in a single evening - that’s what makes this exciting.”
Single tickets for this event are on sale now through the Alberta Rose Theatre. Doors will open at 1:30 pm, with the program starting at 2pm. For full event information, including the programmed works, and how to buy tickets, visit the event page linked here.
MEET THE COMPOSERS
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Damien Geter is an acclaimed American composer who infuses classical music with various styles from the Black diaspora to create music that furthers the cause for social justice, as well as a celebrated bass-baritone whose varied credits include performances from the operatic stage to the television screen. He is Richmond Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence through 2026 and serves as Interim Music Director & Artistic Advisor at Portland Opera.
Read more about Damien and his work here!
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Dave Ragland is a four-time EMMY nominated composer, vocalist, pianist, and conductor. Hailed as “über-talented” by The Nashville Scene, Ragland was named the First Place Winner of The Atlanta Opera’s 96-Hour Opera Composition Competition. He also received the 2022 Adams-Owens Composition Award by the African-American Art Song Alliance. Ragland has received the 2021 American Prize in Composition, two Telly Awards, and two Midsouth Regional EMMY nominations for his work as composer and audio engineer of Nashville Opera’s ONE VOTE WON -an opera commemorating the centennial of Women's Suffrage.
Learn more about Dave and his work here!
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Carlos Simon is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, whose music ranges from concert music for large and small ensembles to film scores with influences of jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism. Simon is the Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the inaugural Boston Symphony Orchestra Composer Chair, and was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY award for his album Requiem for the Enslaved.
Learn more about Carlos and his work here!
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Jessie Montgomery, Musical America’s 2023 Composer of the Year, is a GRAMMY-winning, acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator whose music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, poetry, and social consciousness, making her an acute interpreter of twenty-first century American sound and experience. Her profoundly felt works have been described as “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (The Washington Post) and are performed regularly by leading orchestras and ensembles around the world. In July 2021, she began a three-year appointment as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Mead Composer-in-Residence.
Learn more about Jessie and her work here!
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GRAMMY®-nominated for his latest solo album "Lord, How Come Me Here?"—a collection of reimagined Negro spirituals—and named one of the 2023 Musical America Top 30 Professionals of the Year, Nigerian-American composer Shawn E. Okpebholo's music resonates globally, earning widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike. The press has described his music as "devastatingly beautiful" and "fresh and new and fearless" (Washington Post), "affecting" (New York Times), "lyrical, complex, singular" (The Guardian), "searing" (Chicago Tribune), "dreamy, sensual" (Boston Globe), and "powerful" (BBC Music Magazine). Okpebholo has garnered numerous accolades, including awards from The Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Prize in Composition, the Music Publishers Association, ASCAP, and was awarded the Inaugural honoree of the Leslie Adams-Robert Owens Composition Award.
Learn more about Shawn and his work here!
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Jasmine Arielle Barnes (September 28, 1991) is an Emmy award winning composer and acclaimed vocalist who has performed and has had
her music performed worldwide. Her music has been described as “precisely imagined” by the Washington Post, “refreshing…engaging…exciting” by San Francisco Classical Voice, "memorable" by Houston Press, and “the best possible blend of Billie Holiday and Claude Debussy” by Boston Globe. She is a multifaceted composer who embraces any writing style of music using a variety of instrumentation and specializes in writing for the voice.
Learn more about Jasmine and her work here!
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Joel Thompson is a composer, conductor, pianist, and educator whose works aim to prioritize community and facilitate connection, while creating music that is “alive and inquisitive, in constant dialogue” (Arts ATL) and “one of the most attractive things one has heard” (New York Classical Review). His work is both powerful and incisive in centering the concerns and desires of the voiceless and historically marginalized. Thompson currently serves as Houston Grand Opera’s first ever full-time Composer-in-Residence, holding a five-year residency that commenced in 2022.
Learn more about Joel and his work here!
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!
