Once upon a time, there was a little Black girl who used to compose music in her head as she read stories about Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. She “heard” music as she gazed upon the lyrics of Peter’s morning song. She thought that everyone could compose music in their head like she did.
Last year, Emily Wilson interviewed the gifted African American composer Nkeiru Okoye (click on the link to read the interview and for YouTube videos of her work), who as a girl did not recognize her formidable gift. Her story, in more than one sense of the word “classic,” is a classic American story that spans a full range of human experiences: giftedness, discouragement, prejudice, encouragement, recognition, and ultimately triumph. As a young adult, she studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and earned a doctorate in music theory and composition at Rutgers University, one of only nine “colonial colleges.” These colleges have deep roots, as they were chartered before the American War of Independence.