Annesley Black facts for kids

Annesley Black is a talented Canadian composer. She was born on September 8, 1979, in Ottawa, Ontario. Today, she lives and works in Germany and Austria. Annesley creates many different kinds of music. Her works range from pieces for orchestras and small groups of musicians to electronic sounds and video performances. She also performs her own music and directs sound for various projects.

Her Musical Journey

Annesley Black started her musical journey by studying jazz and electronic music at Concordia University in Montreal. She then earned her bachelor's degree in musical composition from McGill University in Montreal in 2004. She continued to study composition in Germany.

Awards and Recognition

Annesley has received many important awards for her music. These include a scholarship from the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music in 2004 and 2006. She also won the Busoni Composition Prize in 2008 and the Stuttgart Composition Prize in 2009. A very special award she received was the Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize in 2019. Since 2018, she has been a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin.

Performances and Teaching

Annesley Black's music has been performed in many countries, including Germany and Canada. Famous groups like Ensemble Modern and the hr-Sinfonieorchester have played her pieces. Her music has been featured at big festivals such as Warsaw Autumn and the Donaueschingen Festival.

In May 2015, her music theatre piece Solopoly was first performed at the National Theatre Mannheim. This piece was written for five percussionists. In February 2024, her large orchestral piece, A sound, a narrow, a channel, an inlet, the straits, the barrens, the stretch of a neck, was premiered in Stuttgart.

Annesley has also shared her knowledge by teaching music. She was a lecturer at several universities and conservatories. These include Kronberg Academy and Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main. From 2022 to 2024, she was a Professor for Composition with New Media at Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. In 2023, she became a Professor for Composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz in Austria.

Her Musical Creations

Annesley Black creates music for many different instruments and setups. Here are some examples of her work:

Music for Solo Instruments

These pieces are written for just one instrument or performer.

• maiko for solo viola (2006)
• scissors for trombone (2008)
• a piece that is a size that is recognised as not a size but a piece for piano (2013)
• Innermost tidings of the tube for flute, with a special camera and live video (2018)

Music for Small Groups (Chamber Music)

Chamber music is written for a small group of musicians, usually one player per part.

• FIGHT for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn (2002/03)
• Folds Dependent for string quartet (2003)
• Rock Paper Scissors for bass clarinet, trombone, and double bass (2006)
• Earle Brown's Forgotten Piece in Moholy-Nagy's Light-Space-Modulator for piano with live sounds and video (2012)
• HAMMER HAMMER for pianist, percussion, and live-electronics (2017)

Music for Ensembles and Orchestras

These pieces are for larger groups of musicians. An ensemble is a medium-sized group, and an orchestra is a very large group.

• Snow Job for ensemble and light sequencer (2010)
• misinterpreting the 2008 south sudanese budget reform for the orchestra for a full orchestra (2012)
• screaming sisters for ensemble and live electronics (2022)

Music for the Stage

These works are designed to be performed on a stage, often combining music with other elements like acting or dance.

• Flowers of Carnage – a Kung-Fu performance for musicians and performers (2013/14)
• Solopoly for five percussionists (2015)
• listening to Vuntut Gwitchin – a music-theatre piece with musicians, speakers, and video (2017)

Electronic Music

Annesley also creates music using electronic sounds and technology.

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

Her Recordings

Annesley Black's music has been released on several CDs. These recordings let people listen to her unique compositions.

• Annesley Black: NO USE IN A CENTRE (2013)
• Not thinking about the elephants on the CD Quasar Quatuor de Saxophones – De Souffles et de Machines III (2021)
• Annesley Black – Things that didn’t work the first time (2022)