kids encyclopedia robot

Annesley Black facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Annesley Black (born 8 September 1979) is a Canadian composer who lives in Germany and Austria. She creates many different kinds of music, from pieces for single instruments to electronic sounds and video performances. Her works include music for orchestras, small groups, theater shows, and art installations. She also performs, improvises, and directs sound for her projects.

Annesley Black's Musical Journey

Annesley Black started her music studies at Concordia University in Montreal, focusing on jazz and electronic music. She then earned her bachelor's degree in musical composition from McGill University in Montreal in 2004. She continued her studies in Germany, learning more about composition and electronic music at the Hochschule für Musik Köln and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.

Awards and Recognition

Annesley Black has received many important awards for her music. Some of these include:

  • A scholarship and award from the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music (2004/2006).
  • The Busoni Composition Prize from the Academy of Arts, Berlin (2008).
  • The Stuttgart Composition Prize (2009).
  • The prestigious Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize (2019).

She was also a special guest (fellow) at the Academy of Arts, Berlin in 2009 and became a member of this important institution in 2018.

Performances and Premieres

Her music has been performed in many countries, including Germany and Canada. Famous groups like Ensemble Modern and the hr-Sinfonieorchester have played her pieces at major music festivals. Some of these festivals include Warsaw Autumn, Ultraschall Festival Berlin, and the Donaueschingen Festival.

Annesley Black's music theater piece called Solopoly, which is for five percussionists, was first performed at the National Theatre Mannheim in May 2015. Another large orchestral piece, A sound, a narrow, a channel, an inlet, the straits, the barrens, the stretch of a neck, had its first performance in February 2024 in Stuttgart.

Teaching and Professional Roles

From 2008 to 2011, Annesley Black worked as a Sound Engineer Assistant for the SWR Experimental Studio, helping with recordings and concerts. She was also a board member of the German Society for Electroacoustic Music (DEGEM) from 2012 to 2020.

She has taught music at several universities, including:

  • Kronberg Academy in Frankfurt (2013–2016).
  • Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main (2014–2020).
  • Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt (2016–2022).

From 2022 to 2024, she was a Professor for Composition with New Media at Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. In 2023, Annesley Black became a Professor for Composition at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz.

Today, Annesley Black lives in Graz, Austria.

Types of Music Annesley Black Creates

Annesley Black writes many different kinds of music. Here are some examples of the categories her works fall into:

Solo Music

Solo music is written for just one instrument or performer.

  • maiko for solo viola (2006)
  • stiff upper lip for bass clarinet (2014)
  • Innermost tidings of the tube for flute, using a special camera and live video (2018)

Chamber Music

Chamber music is for a small group of instruments, usually with one player per part.

  • FIGHT for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn (2002/03)
  • Rock Paper Scissors for bass clarinet, trombone, and double bass (2006)
  • not thinking about the elephants for saxophone quartet and live electronics (2018)

Ensemble and Orchestra Music

This music is for larger groups of musicians, like a full orchestra or a big ensemble.

  • Snow Job for an ensemble and light sequencer (2010)
  • misinterpreting the 2008 south sudanese budget reform for the orchestra for a full orchestra (2012)
  • A sound, a narrow, a channel, an inlet, the straits, the barrens, the stretch of a neck for a large orchestra spread out in a space (2023)

Stage Works

These are pieces created for performances on a stage, often involving movement or acting.

  • Flowers of Carnage – a Kung-Fu performance for musicians and performers (2013/14)
  • Solopoly for five percussionists (2015)

Electronic Music

Electronic music uses electronic instruments, digital technology, or recorded sounds.

  • Don't spray snow on the other person's grave is a sound installation using 16 loudspeakers (2009/10).
  • pull the plug – Las Vegas and Venice, a comparative study is a sound and video installation (2009/10).

Annesley Black's Albums

Annesley Black's music has been released on several albums:

  • Annesley Black: NO USE IN A CENTRE (WERGO 2013) features several of her pieces for different instruments and orchestra.
  • Not thinking about the elephants is on the CD Quasar Quatuor de Saxophones – De Souffles et de Machines III (2021).
  • Her portrait CD, Annesley Black – Things that didn’t work the first time, was released by Kairos in 2022.
kids search engine
Annesley Black Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.