Cynthia Cozette Lee facts for kids

Cynthia Cozette Lee, born on October 19, 1953, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a talented African-American composer. She writes classical music and also creates stories for operas, which are called librettos. Cynthia Cozette made history as the first African-American woman to earn a Master of Arts degree in music composition from the University of Pennsylvania. While there, she learned from famous American composers George Crumb and George Rochberg.

Early Life and Learning

Cynthia Cozette Lee has a fascinating family history. Her great-grandfather, Warren Garner, was an African slave who bravely fought in the American Civil War. He was part of the 4th Regiment Infantry of the United States Colored Troops.

Starting Music Young

Cynthia began her music journey at just 8 years old. She started learning piano with Carmen Rummo, a professor from Duquesne University. When she was 10, she picked up the flute. Her early flute teachers included Alois Hrabak and Bernard Goldberg, both of whom played for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In 1969, she won the Victor Saudek Flute Award, which allowed her to study with Goldberg.

At 16, Cynthia started learning how to compose music. Her teacher was Joseph Willcox Jenkins, a music composition professor at Duquesne University. She won an honorable mention in the Pittsburgh Flute Club Composition Contest in 1969, and her prize was to have lessons with Jenkins.

College and Advanced Studies

Cynthia attended Jacksonville University from 1971 to 1973, where William Hoskins was one of her music composition teachers. She then went to Carnegie Mellon University from 1973 to 1975. In 1975, she performed her senior recital with Gary Chang, another music student. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Music Composition. Her teachers there included Leonardo Balada and Roland Leich.

She continued her studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master of Arts Degree in Music Composition in 1977. Her composition teachers were George Crumb and George Rochberg. From 1977 to 1978, she learned music copying at The Juilliard School with Arnold Arnstein, who was the personal music copyist for famous composers like Leonard Bernstein. Later, she earned a Master of Public Administration Degree from Rutgers University in 2005. In 2009, she received her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Rowan University.

Her Music Style

From the very beginning, Cynthia Cozette Lee's music was inspired by French composers like Debussy and Ravel. These composers are known for their "impressionistic" style, which creates a dreamy, atmospheric sound.

Her musical training connects her to a long line of famous musicians. Her teachers, Roland Leich and George Rochberg, were students of Rosario Scalero. Scalero, in turn, was a student of Eusebius Mandyczewski, who was a close friend of the famous composer Johannes Brahms.

Influences and Works

Cynthia Cozette's African-American heritage has greatly influenced her music. She often chooses themes that reflect her background. In 1982, she finished two short operas called Adea and The Black Guitar. She also started working on an opera about her great-grandfather, who fought in the Civil War. She has composed pieces for voices, small groups of instruments (chamber music), and full orchestras.

Cozette has won national awards for her compositions. Her piece Nigerian Treasures for Solo Unaccompanied Flute received a College Music Society Composition Award in 1985. This work was first performed at the College Music Society Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, in November 1985.

While many of her original compositions have not been officially published, more than 45 of her vocal, instrumental, and operatic works are registered with the Library of Congress. This includes her collaborations with her sister, Hazel Ann Lee, on art songs, operas, and two musicals titled Secretaries and Slavery.

On April 15, 2023, her art song The Wake, from her Doctor’s Song Cycle, had its world premiere in Paris, France. The Orchestre Symphonique du Loiret performed the piece with conductor Mehdi Lougraïda. Finalists from the Afrique Lyrique Opera 2nd Competition sang the art song.

Productions and Writings

From 1982 to 1984, Cynthia Cozette had her own classical music radio show called Classical Reflections on WPEB Public Radio. On her show, African-American classical musicians in Philadelphia could talk about their lives and their music. She also helped promote these musicians by working as a classical music consultant for a weekly radio show called The Marketplace from 1976 to 1977. In 2001, she performed her one-woman show, Songs I Wrote For Broadway, at the Women of Color Festival in New York City.

Cozette also started writing poetry, fiction, and essays in 2000. Some of her published works include:

• Lee, C.C. (2020). The Forgotten Schoolhouse: Original Poems and Stories on Faith, Love, Nature and Wonder.
• Lee. C.C. (2014). Native American Music and Living Legends.
• Lee, C. (2010). D.O.O.R.S. of Change: Capacity Building to Differentiated Instruction.
• Lee, C. (November, 2000). Build a bias-free classroom.

Selected Works

Here are some of Cynthia Cozette Lee's musical compositions:

Operas

• ADEA Opera in One Act and Three Scenes
• The Black Guitar (La Guitarra Negra)
• Partway To Freedom

Orchestral Music

• Ebony Reflections for chamber orchestra
• Concerto for piano and orchestra
• The Martyr for baritone and orchestra
• The Wake for solo voice (all ranges) and string orchestra

Chamber Music

• Nigerian Treasures for solo unaccompanied flute
• Pittsburgh Memoirs in 4 Movements for flute trio
• Rivers: An African Tribute in 3 movements for solo unaccompanied flute
• The Steps of the Art Museum Three Poems for the piano
• Paris String Quartet
• Sweets for 4 Flutes in 3 Movements for flute quartet

Vocal and Choral Music

• Colors for Women’s Chorus and Percussion Ensemble
• Las Canciones de Puerto Rico for SATB choir
• Make A Joyful Noise for SATB choir
• The Doctor’s Song Cycle for soprano, voice and piano

Musicals

• Secretaries
• Slavery Year 3000
• Songs I Wrote for Broadway, a Musical Review