Lettie Alston facts for kids

Lettie Beckon Alston (born 1953) was an American composer. She was well-known for her piano music. She also created a popular series of concerts called "Lettie Alston and Friends." She passed away in 2014.

About Lettie Alston

Lettie Alston was born in 1953 in Detroit, a large city in the United States. She loved music and studied at Wayne State University. She earned two degrees there. Later, in 1983, she achieved her highest degree, a doctorate, from the University of Michigan (UM). This special degree was in musical composition. She was the very first African-American person to earn this important degree from the University of Michigan.

Her Musical Work

Lettie Alston's music used both traditional instruments and electronic instruments. This means she wrote music for regular instruments like pianos and violins, but also for electronic sounds. She composed music for many different groups. These included orchestras, which are large groups of musicians. She also wrote for smaller chamber groups and vocal groups, which are singers.

In 1995, Alston started a special concert series at Oakland University. It was called "Lettie Alston and Friends." These concerts featured new classical music. Each concert usually had a main idea or theme. The last concert in this series took place in 2008. In 2001, her music was released on a two-CD set. It was titled Keyboard Maniac. This CD set showed off her amazing work on both acoustic pianos (regular pianos) and electric pianos.

See also

In Spanish: Lettie Beckon Alston para niños