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Black Annesley

was born in Ottawa in 1979. She began her studies in electronic music and jazz guitar at Concordia University, and continued her musical education in composition with Brian Cherney at the McGill University in Montreal, followed by composition studies with York Hoeller and Hans-Ulrich Humpert (electronic music) in Cologne and Mathias Spahlinger, Orm Finnendahl (electronic music) and Cornelius Schwehr (film music) in Freiburg. Her works have been performed internationally by ensembles such as the Hessian Radio Orchestra, ensemble mosaik, Ensemble Modern, ensemble ascolta, ECM+ Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal and Nouvel Ensemble Modern de Montréal under conductors such as D. R. Colemann, Enno Poppe, T. Engel, Lucas Vis, and Véronique Lacroix. She has received many distinctions for her work, including the Busoni-Förderpreis der Akademie der Künste, Berlin (2008), Composition Prize of the City of Stuttgart (2009) and a portrait CD from the German Music Council in their series Edition Zeitgenössische Musik (October 2013).

As a sound engineer she has worked with institutions, ensembles and soloists such as Experimentalstudio des SWR, ensemble recherche, Rei Nakamura and canto battuto. She also performs frequently as an improviser of electronic music in various constellations.

Her versatility is documented in numerous collaborations in the realm of film, theatre, dance, art installations and rock music. Annesley Black resides in Frankfurt with her husband, Robin and son, Bodo.

 

Selected works: FIGHT for woodwind quintet (2002–03), Folds Dependent for string quartet (2003), Collapsable Uprisings for clarinet, trumpet, cello, (with Richard Reed Parry, 2003), Miniature for saxophone quartet (2005), LAUF for nine instruments (2005), maiko for viola (2006), Rock Paper Scissors for bass clarinet, trombone and double bass (2006), Smooche de la Rooche II – Variations on a theme by Hazel Meyer for three athletically inclined percussionists and electronics (2007), Kino Eye, music for Dziga Vertov’s silent film for chamber ensemble (2007), scissors for trombone (2008), De Bullion for piano with live digital sound and video processing (2007–08), Humans in Motion for chamber ensemble (2007–08), aorko for viola and live digital signal processing (2006–09), Moment-performatives Spazieren for violin, percussion and piano, music for Yukhiro Taguchi’s film (2009), tender pink descender for two contrabass clarinets (2009), Dreimal Fulda mit ohne, radiowork piece (with Robin Hoffmann, 2009), PULL THE PLUG, sound and video installation (2009–10), don’t spray snow on the other person’s grave, sound installation (2009–10), industrial drive for trombone quartet (2009–10), snow job for ensemble (2010), SCHLAEGERMUSIK for badminton team and live digital signal processing (2010), moment – curitiba – vorspiel for chamber ensemble (2010–11), misinterpreting the South Sudanese budget reform of 2008 for large orchestra (2011–12), Trauermusik for two performers (2012), Earl Brown’s Forgotten Piece in Moholy-Nagy-s Light-Space-Modulator for piano and live electronics with live-controlled video playback (2012), Jenny’s Last Rock for ensemble and five cassette players (2012), Wann wird man je versteh’n? for solo performer (2012), GURU-GURUDoppelrequiem für Steve Jobs und Karlheinz Stockhausen for chamber ensemble (2013), Flowers of Carnage for ca. 30 teenagers (2013).