MUSIC SCORES & CURRICULUM GUIDES
Intergenerational music performing and learning of Black history.
Designed for beginner elementary/middle school string ensembles, each original composition includes an advanced string quartet part appropriate for high school or faculty performers and a companion curriculum guide. Composed by social justice artist and African American composer, Anthony R. Green in conjunction with a team of educators, each work centers on such themes as Negro Spirituals, Haitian and Dominican folk songs, and historic Black figures and abolitionists including Harriet Jacobs, Mum Bett, Phillis Wheatley and Octavius Catto.
Find the first three scores + curriculums below!
Catto’s Courage for string quartet & intermediate string ensemble
Catto’s Courage depicts the strength of Octavius Catto, a dedicated civil rights leader and desegregationist in post-Civil War Philadelphia. Catto was murdered on Election Day in 1871, one year after African Americans were constitutionally granted the right to vote with the ratification of the 15th Amendment. Through music and companion curriculum guides, students will intimately engage with his life and legacy.
Listen to a live performance with Castle of our Skins and Boston's Project STEP, a renowned string training education program that provides talented young musicians that identify with historically underrepresented groups in classical music with comprehensive music instruction.
Performed live, March 12, 2023 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA.
Chorale for Phillis, Harriet and Mum Bett for string quartet & beginner string ensemble
Chorale for Phillis, Harriet and Mum Bett introduces three legendary Black historic figures to young learners: poet Phillis Wheatley, abolitionist and author Harriet A. Jacobs, and the formerly enslaved Mum Bett who became the first African American woman to successfully file a lawsuit for her freedom in Massachusetts. As all of their lives intersected with the institution of slavery, students will learn of history, racialized enslavement, strength, and resilience.
Listen to a live performance with Castle of our Skins and Boston's Project STEP, a renowned string training education program that provides talented young musicians that identify with historically underrepresented groups in classical music with comprehensive music instruction.
Performed live, March 12, 2023 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA.
A Little History for solo narrating violist
A Little History tells the simplified stories of nine legendary figures in Black History through original music, poetry and interaction. This new edition, designed for students in grades 2-6, includes a variety of engagement materials including a performance score, curriculum guide with buildable units and worksheets, beautiful portrait cards of all nine figures, and a PowerPoint presentation. The figures represented include poet Phillis Wheatley Peters; inventors/entrepreneurs Garrett Morgan and Madam C. J. Walker; agriculturist George Washington Carver; composers Margaret Bonds and Ed Bland; and activists/political figures Angela Davis, Bayard Rustin, and Barack Obama.
While all works are grounded in Classical music, each touches on different subjects such as history, social studies, and literature, making collaboration across academic subjects a possibility. The age-appropriate, companion curriculum with scaffolded lesson plans are rooted in Afrocentric pedagogical practices that emphasize experiential learning, group participation, aural skills, and individual creativity. Accompanying guides meet key Social Emotional Learning standards while creating a fun, informative, and engaging experience for students and teachers alike. With their buildable lesson units and relevance to other subjects, they provide a deeper context (and in some school systems, the only context) for music, Black history, social justice, and culture to be appreciated.