Have you ever kept a diary or a journal? It’s on those pages where a person’s deepest feelings and emotions are shared – their responses to the world and everything around them. While these are typically kept private, there are instances of people who don’t mind sharing everything that’s in them – certainly on the musical side of things. Hi there – I’m Loki Karuna and on this edition of Noteworthy you and I are going to peek into the journal of composer Malachi Brown.
Like many of America’s notable Black composers, Malachi was born and raised in Virginia, and later moved to Harlem to continue his musical pursuits. Along the way, he realized that his reactions to politics couldn’t be held in, so he took to his writing desk and wrote a journal entry: one that uses, instead of words, musical notation. This performance of that journal entry, later titled, “Statements”, was offered in 2024 by the New York City-based American Composers Orchestra.
Following the success of his musical journal entry, Malachi has continued writing for orchestra, and even earned himself a commission from the American Composers Orchestra. Malachi is a composer who isn’t afraid to bare it all, earning him a spot among today’s most noteworthy up and coming composers.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.