Zenobia Powell Perry: Piano Works

GANDOLFI TUCKER CORDELL, JOSEPHINE GANDOLFI

Pianist and composer Zenobia Powell Perry (1908-2004) was a piano student of composer R. Nathaniel Dett. She moved to Rochester, New York to study with him. After a few lessons with Cortez Reece at Langston University in Oklahoma, Perry began to think seriously about composition.; All of the tracks on this album were at some point performed by Mrs. Perry in concert. She continued performing through her 80’s, and even taught until her 90’s.; One of the most interesting works on this album is the Suite from Tawawa House, Perry’s opera that was premiered in 1987. The opera tells the story of a hotel in Ohio in which escaped slaves, freed slaves, and mixed-race children of slave owners are staying, and shows the complex relationships between black and white Americans in the pre-Civil war era.

Price: $25.98