Still I Rise

May 7, 2021

The students of WFU Choir Director and Music Department faculty Dr. Chris Gilliam spent the spring term learning works by all female-identifying composers. Gilliam organized a guest artist workshop and collaborative virtual performance featuring the work of (among others) Alysia Lee, Kennedy Center Fellow and composer.  Lee provided a workshop for the Wake Forest University Choirs and the Winston-Salem State Singing Rams. The choirs from both universities collaborated on a virtual performance of Lee’s piece “Say Her Name,” a composition about the tragedies that have befallen African-American men and women, which was shared at the May 7 WFU Reading of the Names memorial and renaming event and online.

Both projects can be viewed by clicking the links below.

Say Her Name c. 4 minutes

Still I Rise: The Female Voice In Creation c. 30 minutes

Collaborators: WFU Choir Program, WFU Department of Music, Winston-Salem State University Singing Rams, WFU Divinity School, Alysia Lee, WFU Slavery, Race, and Memory Project, WFU Women’s Center, WFU Leadership and Character, WFU Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies