Artwork of Local DSO Violinist Featured in Black Composers Coloring Book

She founded RBPF in 2001 as a charitable organization providing services and funding for classical music education, research, performances, and artists to benefit listeners and learners alike.

RBPF started the Music by Black Composers (MBC) project in an effort to create curricular materials for young classical musicians, professional performers, educators, and others. RBPF has collected more than 900 works, spanning four centuries by more than 350 Black composers, both men and women from North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and Africa.

“The MBC coloring book is a fairly recent idea, inspired by my own experience as a parent of a young musician,” said Pine. “There are 40 composers, 10 of whom are women.”

In this unique coloring book, youth will find the 18th Century Afro-French composer, Chevalier de Saint-Georges known as ‘The Black Mozart,’ the 19th Century Afro-Brazilian composer, Chiquinha Gonzaga, who was the first woman to conduct an orchestra in Brazil, the 20th Century African-American composer, George Walker, who was the first Black composer to win a Pulitzer, and the 21th Century African-American composer, Michael Abels, who wrote the soundtrack for the recent hit film “Get Out.”

“All of the drawing is by Dallas Symphony Orchestra violinist, Sho-mei Pelletier, and she cleverly includes cool facts about each composer in their image, usually hidden among their clothing,” said Pine. “The coloring book also includes a biography of each of the 40 composers.”

In addition to “Coloring Book of Black Composers”, the RBPF has released their first sheet music book, “Violin Volume 1,” which is for beginner through elementary level students. It’s a collection of 22 pieces by Black men and women from the 18th-21st centuries, representing North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

The coloring book, as well as MBC Violin Volume 1, is available at Shar Music online:
www.sharmusic.com/…/Bo…/Coloring-Book-Of-Black-Composers.axd

For more information about the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation, please visitwww.rbpfoundation.org