Voices of Connection — 2/8 Reeves: "A Day with Mae"
In honor of Black History Month, Voices of Ascension is highlighting BIPOC vocalists and works by BIPOC composers we've performed in the past. This week, we are highlighting composer, pianist, and singer RaShonda Reeves, who wrote A Day with Mae for Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space, which Voices of Ascension and Trio Triumphatrix premiered this past October.
RaShonda Reeves is a composer, pianist, singer, and music business professional originally from Saginaw, MI. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Howard University and a Master's degree in music business from New York University. She is the owner of Girl Born on A Monday Productions, and has released her music through Spotify, Apple Music, and BandCamp.
For A Day with Mae, Reeves sets text from a Good Morning America segment with Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to go into space. Other-worldly and wondrous, A Day with Mae is a quasi-spiritual take on Jemison's words, highlighting her experience in space and how she felt "connected with the entire universe." In the Good Morning America segment, Jemison is answering questions from children about her time in space, and Reeves does stunning work in setting what is already a tender sentiment about our place in the universe and turning it into something magical.
RaShonda REEVES A Day with Mae
from Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space
Trio Triumphatrix
Lindsay Kesselman, Soprano
Hai-Ting Chinn, Mezzo-Soprano
Kirsten Sollek, Contralto
Recorded live on January 27, 2021 via livestream on Vimeo.
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.