This is a growing collection of composers writing choral music in Africa and in the African diaspora. Some are cathedral and church choirmasters, some work independently, some have been publishing for decades and some have written only a handful of pieces so far. What they have in common is that their music is being sung, and that too little has been written about them.
Most of the composers here write sacred music, and most of it is intended for choirs that will learn it by ear as much as from the page. That shapes the writing, and it is one of the things these profiles pay attention to.
Who is here
The composers showcase is the full index, and it is also where the open call for new submissions sits.
Minatus Daniel Unudia is from Udung Usotai, in the Eyo-Abasi group of villages in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Using the music
If you direct a choir, you are welcome to explore these compositions and to approach the composers directly about performance permission, questions, or working together. Contact details are on each composer's own page rather than held centrally, because these are living composers and they would rather hear from you themselves.
Performing this repertoire does something that reading about it does not. It puts money and attention where the work is being made, it gives your choir music that most of your audience will not have heard before, and it keeps the repertoire in circulation instead of in an archive.
Submitting your own work
If you write choral music and would like it considered for the collection, get in touch. There is no submission fee and no exclusivity attached.
Email kalese@choralchristian.org or call +237 681 379 518.