by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello everyone!
This month, I want to talk about a composer who, while having a limited repertoire for the horn, deserves more of our attention. Zenobia Powell Perry was born in 1908 in Boley, Oklahoma, a town founded in 1905 by Black people who had been formerly enslaved, as well as people from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. There can be no doubt that Powell Perry’s heritage and upbringing influenced her music and her career. Her grandfather, who had been enslaved and later freed, taught the young Zenobia spirituals and songs that would have a noticeable impact on her compositions. During her collegiate studies at the historically Black Tuskegee Institute, Powell Perry was encouraged to compose by William L. Dawson, a renowned composer in his own right. As a result, Powell Perry attended the University of Wyoming to complete her master’s in composition, where she received instruction from Darius Milhaud (a member of Le Six) and Allan Arthur William. Zenobia was incredibly active in uplifting her community. For example, she worked closely with Eleanor Roosevelt (who would become one of her dear mentors and friends) to facilitate a program for training Black teachers. She was also active in the Civil Rights Movement.
Zenobia Powell Perry composed two pieces which feature the horn: Elegy for clarinet, two horns, and two bassoons, and Three Pieces for Horn and Piano, written between 1973 and 1983. The first movement of the three, Prelude, is tuneful and song-like, evoking the human voice in the horn line. Episode I, on the other hand, is bold and declarative, which demands an entirely different tone color from the horn player. Episode II, marked “Lively,” is just that—a joyful, metrically-shifting romp for the performers, culminating in a cadenza that offers horn players the chance to show off their virtuosity. Please enjoy it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1ImDPbR8gY
If you’re interested, check out my podcast where I interview diverse composers who write for horn. Caiti Beth https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/represent-the-podcast/id1669553007
