Rashida Black, harp instructor,
has won a number of awards including the Keadue International Harp Competition in Ireland, the Golkin Education Award in New York, the Judge's Choice Award for her solo performance in Jordan Hall, Boston, which was broadcast live on WGBH, and the Bonnie Brae Harp Competition in New Jersey. She has held scholarships from the American Symphony Orchestra League, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Natick, MA, New England Conservatory in Boston and University of Chicago, IL. Ms. Black has presented solo performances at Falmouth Academy, Massachusetts and was featured as a soloist with the Academy's Orchestra performing the Handel Concerto in B-flat. In the Boston area, she has presented solo performances at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, at Jordan Hall and Montclair Museum of Art. As an orchestral and ensemble musician, Rashida Black has played with various orchestras throughout New England including the Cape & Islands Orchestra, the Southeast Strings Orchestra, All-State orchestra, and the Longy School of Music Opera Orchestra. She has also toured internationally to Israel with the New England Conservatory's Youth Symphony, Mexico and Cuba with the Conservatory'sYouth Philharmonic Orchestra, and nationally with popular recording artist Kanye West. Ms. Black has also performed with both the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra and Hawthorne Symphony in New Jersey.
Beyond performing, Rashida Black has taught harp at an after-school program at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in a program developed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to bring music to the public schools. Her curriculum included group lessons incorporating basic theory and harmony skills. Ms. Black's students performed each spring in a concert in Jordan Hall. Ms. Black has also taught harp and piano at the Soumas Heritage School of Music in Plainfield, New Jersey. Rashida N. Black is a graduate of the New England Conservatory having studied with Ann Hobson Pilot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During her summers, she studied at Tanglewood with Lucile Lawrence, and in Camden, Maine with Alice Chalifoux. Ms. Black has recently received her Master of Arts degree in Humanities from the University of Chicago. Her thesis was entitled "American Anomalies: 19th Century All-Black Orchestras." She recently founded the Myrtle Hart Society, a resource dedicated to "illuminating the accomplishments of classical musicians of color." The organization encourages all musicians, composers and supporters to discuss various aspects of their careers and perform works by composers of color from around the globe. A monthly electronic newsletter promotes the global activities of classical musicians and composers of color.
Beyond performing, Rashida Black has taught harp at an after-school program at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in a program developed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to bring music to the public schools. Her curriculum included group lessons incorporating basic theory and harmony skills. Ms. Black's students performed each spring in a concert in Jordan Hall. Ms. Black has also taught harp and piano at the Soumas Heritage School of Music in Plainfield, New Jersey. Rashida N. Black is a graduate of the New England Conservatory having studied with Ann Hobson Pilot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During her summers, she studied at Tanglewood with Lucile Lawrence, and in Camden, Maine with Alice Chalifoux. Ms. Black has recently received her Master of Arts degree in Humanities from the University of Chicago. Her thesis was entitled "American Anomalies: 19th Century All-Black Orchestras." She recently founded the Myrtle Hart Society, a resource dedicated to "illuminating the accomplishments of classical musicians of color." The organization encourages all musicians, composers and supporters to discuss various aspects of their careers and perform works by composers of color from around the globe. A monthly electronic newsletter promotes the global activities of classical musicians and composers of color.
