Jump to content

Draft:Jasmine Arielle Barnes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jasmine Arielle Barnes
Barnes in 2024
Barnes in 2024
Background information
Born (1991-09-28) September 28, 1991 (age 33)
Baltimore, Maryland US
GenresClassical|Opera|Choral
OccupationComposer|Vocalist|Educator
LabelsNavona Records, Warner Classics, ACIS, Cedille Records, Lexicon Records
Member ofAlpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated|Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity
Websitehttps://www.jasminebarnescomposer.com

Jasmine Arielle Barnes (born September 28, 1991) is an American composer and vocalist.[1] Barnes' compositions often incorporate narratives focused on African American experiences and civil rights history.[2]

Early life and education

[edit]

Barnes was born on September 28, 1991, in Baltimore, Maryland.[3] Barnes initially studied architecture at Morgan State University before changing her major to Music. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance from Morgan State University in 2015.[4]

Career

[edit]

Barnes has held academic positions in music education.She served as Head of Composition and Jazz Voice at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.[5] Barnes studied composition at Morgan State University under the guidance of Dr. James Lee III. James Lee III is an American composer whose works have been performed by orchestras and ensembles.[6]

According to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she was the first composition major in the university's history and organized the inaugural composition recital at the institution.[7]

Compositions And Major Works

[edit]

Barnes has composed works across multiple genres.[8] Her opera "She Who Dared," with librettist Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, premiered at the Chicago Opera Theater in 2025. The work focuses on Black women involved in bus desegregation efforts in the American South during the 1950s.[9]

Other compositions include the choral/orchestral song cycle "Portraits: Douglass and Tubman," commissioned by Baltimore Choral Arts Society[10] and the orchestral piece "KINSFOLKNEM," which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2024 with the National Youth Orchestra 2.[11]

Residencies And Collaborations

[edit]

Barnes has held composer residencies, including a fellowship at Chautauqua Opera during the 2021 season and a residency with All Classical Portland.[12] She was part of the Opera Theater of Saint Louis New Works Collective from 2023-2024 and the American Lyric Theater Composer Librettist Development Program from 2021-2023.[13] [14]She participated in the All Classical Portland Recording Inclusivity Initiative in 2021.[15]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Barnes received a 2023 Capital Emmy Award for the PBS documentary "Dreamer," which featured her work "Portraits: Douglass and Tubman."[16] She has received grants from Opera America, including the Discovery Opera Grant for Women Composers and the Opera Grants for Women Composers in 2024 for her opera "She Who Dared."[17]

Barnes has received recognition, including the International Florence Price Award (2021) [18], the Gwendolyn Brinkley Fine Arts Award 2021[19], the All Classical Portland Recording Inclusivity Initiative Winner (2021)[20], American Composers Forum NextNotes High School Music Creator Educator Recognition (2020) [21], and the Black Brilliance Award Winner.[22][23]

Media appearances and recognition

[edit]

Barnes has been featured in media outlets, including CNN's "First of All with Victor Blackwell" (23) and PBS programs "Chicago Tonight Black Voices" and "Artworks."[24]. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has profiled her. [25]

Her compositions have been reviewed by publications including The Chicago Tribune [26], The New York Times[27], The Washington Post[28], and The Boston Globe[29].

Compositions

[edit]

Barnes has composed several operas. "She Who Dared" (2025), with libretto by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, was commissioned by the American Lyric Theater and premiered at the Chicago Opera Theater in June 2025.[30]

Other operatic works include "On My Mind" (2024), commissioned by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis with libretto by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton[31][32]; "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" (2022), commissioned by American Lyric Theater with libretto by Marcus Yi[33] and "The Burning Bush" (2021), commissioned by Washington National Opera for the Kennedy Center's 50th anniversary celebration with libretto by Joshua Banbury[34]. Barnes has also composed shorter operatic works, including "The Late Walk" (2020) [35] and "Star Arts High"[36].

Barnes has composed works for orchestra, including KINSFOLKNEM Concertante (2024), which was commissioned and premiered by Carnegie Hall with the NYO2 orchestra.[37]

Choral and orchestral works
[edit]

"Portraits: Douglass and Tubman" (2022) for choir and orchestra was commissioned by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, featuring texts by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman[38]. ""Songs for the People" is an oratorio composed in 2024 by Jasmine Barnes for soloists, chorus, and chamber orchestra.[39] The work uses text by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a 19th-century American poet, abolitionist, and activist.[40]

Choral Works
[edit]

Barnes has composed several choral works that address themes of social justice and the African American experience.[41]

"Sometimes I Cry" (2019) for a cappella choir uses text by Tupac Shakur and was commissioned by Tennessee State University Meistersingers and premiered in June 2019.[42]

Discography

[edit]

Barnes's compositions have been featured on several commercial recordings:

●Amplify (2022) - All Classical Portland's Recording Inclusivity Initiative Vol. 1, released by Navona Records, featuring "Taking Names" performed by Karen Slack and Yoko Greeney.[43]

●Rising (2023) - Released by Warner Classics, performed by Lawrence Brownlee and Kevin Miller, featuring "Peace" and "Invocation".[44]

●Dreamer (2023) - Released by ACIS, performed by Baltimore Choral Arts Society under Anthony Blake Clark, featuring "Portraits: Douglass and Tubman".[45]

●A Miracle in Legacy (2024) - Released by Lexicon Records, performed by Joshua Conyers and Chelsea Whittaker, featuring Barnes's song cycle of the same name.[46]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jasmine Arielle Barnes | KINSFOLKNEM". www.nashvillesymphony.org. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  2. ^ "New opera honors the Black women of the Civil Rights Movement". Chicago Sun-Times. 2025-05-29. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  3. ^ "City of Baltimore". City of Baltimore. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  4. ^ Nonemaker, Elizabeth (2022-05-25). "Meet Jasmine Barnes, rising composer and latest success story of Baltimore arts programs". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  5. ^ "Bio - Jasmine Barnes". Resonance Ensemble. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  6. ^ "James Lee III". James Lee III. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  7. ^ "Jasmine Barnes | Chicago Symphony Orchestra". Experience the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  8. ^ "Jasmine Barnes | Chicago Symphony Orchestra". Experience the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  9. ^ "New opera honors the Black women of the Civil Rights Movement". Chicago Sun-Times. 2025-05-29. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  10. ^ "textura". www.textura.org. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  11. ^ "Jasmine Arielle Barnes | KINSFOLKNEM". www.nashvillesymphony.org. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  12. ^ "Jasmine Barnes | ADMP". africandiasporamusicproject.org. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  13. ^ "Jasmine Barnes". American Lyric Theater. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  14. ^ "Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Announces 2024 Creative Cohort of the New Works Collective". Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  15. ^ "2021 Recipients". Recording Inclusivity Initiative. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  16. ^ "Jasmine Arielle Barnes | KINSFOLKNEM". www.nashvillesymphony.org. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  17. ^ "OPERA America Awards $100,000 in Discovery Grants to Seven Women Composers". Opera America. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  18. ^ "Announcing the Winners of the 2021 Price Awards". International Florence Price Festival. 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  19. ^ "Jasmine Barnes, Composer | Archive, Performances, Tickets & Video | Operabase". www.operabase.com. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  20. ^ "2021 Finalists". Recording Inclusivity Initiative. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  21. ^ Admin, Dev (2020-05-21). "Winners of the NextNotes High School Music Creator Awards Nominate Educators for Recognition". American Composers Forum. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  22. ^ "American Lyric Theater (ALT) presents InsightALT: Opera in Eden". WWFM. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  23. ^ "Program Notes April 2022 Chamber Concert". CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  24. ^ Artworks | Season 9 | Episode 9001: Dreamer. Retrieved 2025-07-10 – via www.pbs.org.
  25. ^ "Jasmine Barnes | Chicago Symphony Orchestra". Experience the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  26. ^ Tribune, Hannah Edgar | Chicago (2025-06-07). "Review: 'She Who Dared' lovingly fact-checks civil rights history". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  27. ^ Garcia, Sandra E. (2019-01-07). "Jazmine Barnes Case Shows How Trauma Can Affect Memory". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  28. ^ Brodeur, Michael Andor (March 7, 2025). "With 'African Queens,' Karen Slack puts her stamp on Black history". The Washington Post.
  29. ^ Comments, View. "An invitation to learn more was bundled into 'The Passion of Octavius Catto,' and Lawrence Brownlee's 'Rising' recital program - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  30. ^ "'She Who Dared,' an opera about women in the civil rights movement, opens in Chicago". Interlochen Public Radio. 2025-06-05. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  31. ^ "Jasmine Barnes". American Lyric Theater. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  32. ^ "Jasmine Barnes works in dual roles to expand reach of classical music | Chicago Symphony Orchestra". Experience the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  33. ^ "I Will Follow You Into The Dark". MARCUS YI WRITER / COMPOSER & DIRECTOR. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  34. ^ "MusicalAmerica - Kennedy Center Launches The Cartography Project". www.musicalamerica.com. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  35. ^ "Tales From A Safe Distance: The Late Walk". Bare Opera. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  36. ^ "Jasmine Barnes | ADMP". africandiasporamusicproject.org. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  37. ^ "NYO2 2024". www.carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  38. ^ "Baltimore Choral Arts Society to Receive $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts: Baltimore Choral Arts Society". www.baltimorechoralarts.org. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  39. ^ "Jasmine Barnes". American Lyric Theater. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  40. ^ "Biography: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper". National Women's History Museum. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  41. ^ "About the Composers & Librettists". PORTLAND OPERA.
  42. ^ "Beyond the Score". Hear Us, Hear Them. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  43. ^ "Amplify". Navona Records. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  44. ^ Brown, Katie (2023-08-15). "Lawrence Brownlee Honors the Ethos of the Harlem Renaissance Through Song". I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  45. ^ "Baltimore Choral Arts Announces the Release of Dreamer, a New Commercial Recording: Baltimore Choral Arts Society". www.baltimorechoralarts.org. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  46. ^ Writer, Guest (2025-02-20). ""A Miracle in Legacy – The Transformative Power of Black Artistry": An Essay by Joshua Conyers". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Jasmine_Arielle_Barnes&oldid=1300772245"