Noel DaCosta

Noel G. DaCosta (1929 in Lagos, Nigeria – April 29, 2002 in New York City) was a Nigerian-Jamaican composer, jazz violinist, and choral conductor.

DaCosta was born in Nigeria to parents of Jamaican heritage, who were Salvation Army missionaries. After moving to Jamaica while DaCosta was young, they emigrated to New York. DaCosta completed his Bachelor's at Queens College in 1952 and his Master's in theory and composition at Columbia University in 1956, studying with Otto Luening and Jack Beeson. He studied with Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence, Italy under a Fulbright Fellowship, and shortly thereafter took positions teaching at Hampton University and the City University of New York. In 1970 he accepted a position at Rutgers University, where he taught until 2001. He died the following year at the age of 72.

DaCosta's works are marked by an infusion of elements of jazz, Caribbean music, and African music into the framework of Western classical music. The New York Times has described his music as "conservatively chromatic."^[1] DaCosta was also a co-founder of the Society of Black Composers. He was an accomplished violinist, playing his own works as well as both classical and jazz music; he played on albums by Les McCann, Roland Kirk, Bernard Purdie, Roberta Flack, McCoy Tyner, Donny Hathaway, Felix Cavaliere, Willis Jackson, Eddie Kendricks, and others.^[2]

Works

Note:this list is incomplete.

• Two Pieces for Unaccompanied Cello
• Blue Mix
• Silver Blue
• Three Short Pieces for Alto Flute
• The Singing Tortoise
• Two Songs for Julie-Ju
• Five Verses with Vamps
• Round about the Mountain from Spiritual Set (1977)
• Triofantasia for Violin, Viola and Cello
• Ukom Memory Songs for Organ and Percussion
• Epitaths
• Hymn Tune and Variations on MARYTON for Organ
• Generata for Organ and Strings

References

External links

• Biography
• Short biography
• Obituary (New York Times)