Cynthia Cozette Lee
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Cozette Lee also known as Cynthia Cozette or Nazik Cynthia Cozette (born October 19, 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
) is a contemporary African American
classical music composer
and librettist. Cozette was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania
with a Masters of Arts Degree in music composition . Cozette was also the first African American woman graduate of the University of Pennsylvania to be instructed in music composition by the American composers, George Crumb
and George Rochberg
.
in the 4th Regiment Infantry of the United States Colored Troops
. Cozette began her formal music training at 8 years old by studying piano with Carmen Rummo, a Duquesne University
professor. She began studying flute at 10 years old. Her early flute teachers were Alois Hrabak, a former flutist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
, and Bernard Goldberg, the principal flutist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Cozette received the Victor Saudek Flute Award in 1969 to study with Goldberg. She began her musical composition training at 16 years old with Joseph Wilcox Jenkins, a Duquesne University music composition professor. Cozette's prize for winning an honorable mention award in the Pittsburgh Flute Club Composition Contest in 1969 was to have composition lessons with Jenkins. Cozette attended Jacksonville University
from 1971 to 1973 and her music composition teachers included William Hoskins. Cozette attended Carnegie Mellon University
from 1973 to 1975. Cozette performed her senior recital in 1975 with Gary Chang, a fellow music composition student at Carnegie Mellon. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Music Composition. Her music composition teachers at Carnegie Mellon included Leonardo Balada
and Roland Leich. Cozette attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1977 with a Master of Arts Degree in Music Composition from the university. Her music composition teachers at University of Pennsylvania included George Crumb and George Rochberg. Cozette studied music copying from 1977 to 1978 at the Juilliard School of Music with Arnold Arnstein, the personal music copyist to Leonard Bernstein
, Gian-Carlo Menotti and Samuel Barber
. She received her Master of Public Administration Degree from Rutgers University
in 2005. She received her doctorate degree in education from Rowan University
in 2009.
, a close friend and amanuensis of Johannes Brahms
through her music composition instructors, Roland Leich and George Rochberg. Both of these instructors were students of Rosario Scalero
, a pupil of Mandyczewski. Cozette's Black heritage greatly infleunces her music composition through her selection of music themes. Cozette completed two one act operas, Adea and The Black Guitar in 1982. However, had difficulty with obtaining publications of her works and recordings. Cozette started sketches on her opera based on the life of her great-grandfather who fought as a soldier in the Civil War and turned to writing smaller compositions for solo flute and piano. Cozette has won national music awards for her compositions. Her Nigerian Treasures for Solo Unaccompanied Flute received a College Music Society Composition Award in 1985 and the work was premiered at the College Music Society Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia during November, 1985. Cozette’s Colors for Women’s Chorus and Percussion Ensemble received 3rd Prize in the 1975 Mu Phi Epsilon
Music Composition Contest. Cozette’s The Martyr written for baritone and orchestra received 2nd Prize in the 1979 Mu Phi Epsilon Composition Contest. Cozette was named to Mu Phi Epsilon's member list of outstanding Artists, Composers, Musicologists and Educators (ACME honor). Finding music composition not a lucrative profession, Cozette turned to writing poetry and fiction novels in 2000. She also returned to songwriting with her sister, Hazel Ann Lee, and co-wrote the musical, Magazine Watchtime. Cozette’s original music compositions have not been published. However, nineteen of her vocal, instrumental and operatic works are registered with the Library of Congress
through the United States Copyright Office
.
Public Radio entitled Classical Reflections. Her radio program was a forum for African American classical musicians in Philadelphia to discuss their life and works. She also promoted African American classical musicians by being a classical music consultant for a weekly radio show called "The Marketplace" created by Joe Adams for WUHY PBS Radio station from 1976 to 1977. WUHY is now called WHYY-FM
. Cozette produced and performed her one-woman show, "Songs I Wrote For Broadway", in 2001 for the Women of Color Festival in New York
.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
) is a contemporary African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
classical music composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and librettist. Cozette was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
with a Masters of Arts Degree in music composition . Cozette was also the first African American woman graduate of the University of Pennsylvania to be instructed in music composition by the American composers, George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
and George Rochberg
George Rochberg
George Rochberg was an American composer of contemporary classical music.-Life:Rochberg was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended the Mannes College of Music, where his teachers included George Szell and Hans Weisse, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Rosario Scalero and...
.
Early life and education
Cozette is the great-granddaughter of Warren Garner, an African slave who fought during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in the 4th Regiment Infantry of the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
. Cozette began her formal music training at 8 years old by studying piano with Carmen Rummo, a Duquesne University
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
professor. She began studying flute at 10 years old. Her early flute teachers were Alois Hrabak, a former flutist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
, and Bernard Goldberg, the principal flutist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Cozette received the Victor Saudek Flute Award in 1969 to study with Goldberg. She began her musical composition training at 16 years old with Joseph Wilcox Jenkins, a Duquesne University music composition professor. Cozette's prize for winning an honorable mention award in the Pittsburgh Flute Club Composition Contest in 1969 was to have composition lessons with Jenkins. Cozette attended Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, on the banks of the St. Johns River. The school was founded in 1934 as a two year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until 1958, when it shifted its focus to four-year university degrees and adopted its...
from 1971 to 1973 and her music composition teachers included William Hoskins. Cozette attended Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
from 1973 to 1975. Cozette performed her senior recital in 1975 with Gary Chang, a fellow music composition student at Carnegie Mellon. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Music Composition. Her music composition teachers at Carnegie Mellon included Leonardo Balada
Leonardo Balada
Leonardo Balada , is a Catalan American composer, now teaching and composing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Life:...
and Roland Leich. Cozette attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1977 with a Master of Arts Degree in Music Composition from the university. Her music composition teachers at University of Pennsylvania included George Crumb and George Rochberg. Cozette studied music copying from 1977 to 1978 at the Juilliard School of Music with Arnold Arnstein, the personal music copyist to Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Gian-Carlo Menotti and Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
. She received her Master of Public Administration Degree from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 2005. She received her doctorate degree in education from Rowan University
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
in 2009.
Music
From the beginning of her composing career Cozette’s music style was influenced by the French impressionistic composers, Debussy and Ravel. Cozette's music composition training directly stems from Eusebius MandyczewskiEusebius Mandyczewski
Eusebius Mandyczewski was a musicologist, composer, conductor, and teacher. He was an author of numerous musical works and is highly regarded within Austrian, Romanian and Ukrainian music circles.- Family and friends :...
, a close friend and amanuensis of Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
through her music composition instructors, Roland Leich and George Rochberg. Both of these instructors were students of Rosario Scalero
Rosario Scalero
Natale Rosario Scalero was an Italian violinist, music teacher and composer.By the age of six, Scalero was under the tutelage of Pietro Bertazzi, a violinist, musical instrument maker and instructor at the Conservatorio St. Cecilia in Torino. In 1881, Scalero entered the Liceo Musicale di Torino...
, a pupil of Mandyczewski. Cozette's Black heritage greatly infleunces her music composition through her selection of music themes. Cozette completed two one act operas, Adea and The Black Guitar in 1982. However, had difficulty with obtaining publications of her works and recordings. Cozette started sketches on her opera based on the life of her great-grandfather who fought as a soldier in the Civil War and turned to writing smaller compositions for solo flute and piano. Cozette has won national music awards for her compositions. Her Nigerian Treasures for Solo Unaccompanied Flute received a College Music Society Composition Award in 1985 and the work was premiered at the College Music Society Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia during November, 1985. Cozette’s Colors for Women’s Chorus and Percussion Ensemble received 3rd Prize in the 1975 Mu Phi Epsilon
Mu Phi Epsilon
Mu Phi Epsilon is a co-ed international professional music fraternity and honor society. It boasts over 75,000 members in 128 collegiate chapters and 74 alumni chapters in the US and abroad.-History:...
Music Composition Contest. Cozette’s The Martyr written for baritone and orchestra received 2nd Prize in the 1979 Mu Phi Epsilon Composition Contest. Cozette was named to Mu Phi Epsilon's member list of outstanding Artists, Composers, Musicologists and Educators (ACME honor). Finding music composition not a lucrative profession, Cozette turned to writing poetry and fiction novels in 2000. She also returned to songwriting with her sister, Hazel Ann Lee, and co-wrote the musical, Magazine Watchtime. Cozette’s original music compositions have not been published. However, nineteen of her vocal, instrumental and operatic works are registered with the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
through the United States Copyright Office
United States Copyright Office
The United States Copyright Office, a part of the Library of Congress, is the official U.S. government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. It is used by copyright title searchers who are attempting to clear a chain of title for copyrighted works.The head of...
.
Productions
From 1982 to 1984, Cozette produced and hosted her own classical music radio interview program on WPEBWPEB
WPEB is a Variety formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Due to WPEB's low wattage, the station only serves the University of Pennsylvania Campus and the University City Neighborhood...
Public Radio entitled Classical Reflections. Her radio program was a forum for African American classical musicians in Philadelphia to discuss their life and works. She also promoted African American classical musicians by being a classical music consultant for a weekly radio show called "The Marketplace" created by Joe Adams for WUHY PBS Radio station from 1976 to 1977. WUHY is now called WHYY-FM
WHYY-FM
WHYY-FM is an NPR member station serving the Delaware Valley area, which is the metro area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is located in Philadelphia. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.-History:...
. Cozette produced and performed her one-woman show, "Songs I Wrote For Broadway", in 2001 for the Women of Color Festival in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Writings
- Lee, C. (November, 2000). Build a bias-free classroom. NJEA Review, 14-16.
- Lee, C. (2010). D.O.O.R.S. of Change: Capacity Building to Differentiated Instruction. Dissertation Published by ProQuest.
- Literary Works Unpublished
- The Autograph Seekers by Cynthia Cozette Lee
- Endings a Book of Poems by Hazel Lee and Cynthia Cozette Lee
- The Elephant Ride a Book of Poems by Cynthia Cozette Lee
- Gracie of Gazzam Hill Children’s Book
- Shakespeare’s Crossing a Children’s Book by Cynthia Cozette Lee
Vocal and choral works
- Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day-Shakespeare Sonnet for high voice and piano
- Don’t Ever Forget Me for soprano and harpsichord
- The First Time I Saw Your Face for soprano and piano
- Four Songs on Freedom for alto, baritone and piano
- 4 Sketches on Black Poems for soprano, baritone, tenor and piano
- Colors for women’s chorus and percussion ensemble
- The Three Tributes for baritone and piano
- The Martyr for baritone and piano
- The Black Guitar/La Guitarra Negra opera in one act
- Bless the Lord Thy God for chorus and piano
- On the Suicide of an African Friend for soprano, flute and piano
- Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman?
- “Harlem” from 4 Sketches on Black Poems
- “Life of Need” Consuela’s aria from The Black Guitar
- Las Cancionnes De Puerto Rico for chorus and piano
- The Doctor’s Song Cycle for soprano and piano
Chamber works
- The Nymph a flute duet
- Lamentations of a Ghetto Child for woodwind quartet and piano
- String Trio Sonata
- Holes and Gaps for solo unaccompanied violin
- Sweets for Four Flutes – Flute Quartet
- Dirges on Sparky’s Death for guitar and piano
- Serenande in Memoriam: To a Runaway Slave for woodwind octet
- My Love for tenor voice and piano Adea opera
- Lady Mariko Suite for flute and piano (Renamed later – Reflections of the Orient)
- The Spanish Guitarist and His Dancer for solo piano (later added to The Steps of the Art Museum piano suite)
- The Steps of the Art Museum Three Poems for the piano
- Nigerian Treasures for solo unaccompanied flute
- Fantaisie on an Air Forgotten for flute and piano
- The Centaur a pictorial essay for violin and piano
- Rivers an African Tribute for solo unaccompanied flute
- Threnody for the Move Victims suite for violin, piano and whistle
- Pittsburgh Memoirs a Suite for Flute Trio
- African Enchantments for 2 flutes and percussion
- The Paris String Quartet in 3 movements
- The Andy Warhol Piano Suite
- Magazine Watchtime song from Secretaries Musical
- On Angel’s Wings
Operas
- Adea opera in one act and three scenes – piano/voice score
- The Black Guitar/La Guitarra Negra Opera in One Act
- The Colored Troop – opera in 2 acts
Musicals
- Slavery 2000 (music by Cynthia Cozette Lee and lyrics by Hazel Ann Lee (Renamed-Slavery Year 3000)
- Vocal Selections – Get Up Early, Why Should You Go, I Am an Underthing, Sunshine Song, If You Were Here
- Secretaries musical play script and musical score
- Songs I Wrote for Broadway a Musical Review
Orchestral
- The Martyr for baritone and orchestra
- Ebony Reflections for chamber orchestra
- Nepenthe Concerto for piano and orchestra