Annesley Black (born 8 September 1979 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian composer based in Germany and Austria. Her works span from instrumental music to electronics and video performances, from orchestra and chamber music to theatre, solo performances and installations. She has appeared as a performer, improviser and sound-director.
After studying jazz and electronic music at Concordia University in Montreal Annesley Black received her bachelor's degree in musical composition in 2004 from McGill University in Montreal under Brian Cherney. She studied composition 2004–2006 with York Höller and Hans-Ulrich Humpert at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. She completed her studies in composition with Mathias Spahlinger, electronic music with Orm Finnendahl and applied music with Cornelius Schwehr at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (Diplom Dec. 2008).
Among her many awards and distinctions are a scholarship and award from the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music (2004/2006), the Busoni Composition Prize (Förderpreis) of the Academy of Arts, Berlin (2008), [1] the Stuttgart Composition Prize (2009) [2] and the Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize (2019). [3] She was also a fellow at the Academy of Arts, Berlin in 2009 and since 2018 has been a member of this institution. [4]
Her pieces have been performed in Germany, Canada and other countries by various ensembles including Ensemble Modern, Ensemble ascolta, ensemble mosaik, Ensemble SurPlus, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Tsilumos Ensemble, ensemble contemporain de Montréal, Quintett Boréale, Composers Slide Quartet and hr-Sinfonieorchester [5] in such festivals as Warsaw Autumn, [6] Ultraschall Festival Berlin, [7] Darmstadt Summer Courses, ECLAT Festival Stuttgart, [8] Donaueschingen Festival, [9] Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, SALT New Music Festival in Victoria, British Columbia, [10] Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. Her music theatre Solopoly for five percussionists was premiered at the National Theatre Mannheim in May 2015. [11] A sound, a narrow, a channel, an inlet, the straits, the barrens, the stretch of a neck for large spatialised orchestra was premiered in February 2024 at the Liederhalle Stuttgart. [12]
From 2008 to 2011, Annesley Black performed as a Sound Engineer Assistant for the SWR Experimental Studio for recordings and concerts and from 2012 to 2020, she was board member of the German Society for Electroacoustic Music (DEGEM). [3]
She was Lecturer at Kronberg Academy in Frankfurt a. M. (2013–2016), at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main (2014–2020) and at Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt a. M. (2016–2022). From 2022 to 2024, Black was Professor for Composition with New Media at Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. In 2023, Black was appointed Professor for Composition at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz. [3]
Annesley Black lives in Frankfurt am Main/Germany and Graz/Austria.
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