Leila Adu

Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music

One of the world’s most beloved music festivals, Tanglewood is the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its training academy, the Tanglewood Music Center, as well as the Boston Pops.

The Fromm Concert at Tanglewood

July 25, 2024, 8 PM
Seiji Ozawa Hall
Lenox/Stockbridge, MA

Leila ADU-GILMORE United Underdog
Miya MASAOKA Praying for a Sign
Trevor WESTON A.N.S.
Valerie COLEMAN Portraits of Josephine
Nathalie JOACHIM The Race 1915
Tania LEÓN Indigena
Steven MACKEY Afterlife

Featured on NPR and NBC, Leila Adu-Gilmore wrote about how she composed United Underdog amid the pandemic and the racial upheaval of the last several years. “I was moved to honor those people who work hard and struggle daily — together yet apart — for the common good of all of us,” she said on her website.

Nathalie Joachim’s The Race 1915, a piece for solo cello and electronics, echos the themes in United Underdog and was inspired by the works of 20th century African American artist Jacob Lawrence, who was known for his raw, challenging works.

The TMC Festival of Contemporary Music seeks to showcase up-and-coming, path-finding, and groundbreaking new composers whose works we believe will define the next evolution of classical music. Leila’s piece is peformed with music by Pulitzer-prize winning Cuban composer Tania León, fellow American Arts & Letters Awardees Trevor Weston and her Princeton PhD composition mentor-friend Steve Mackey.

Resonance FM London interview on Saturday May 25 (corrected times below) about Leila Adu Trio ft. Publiquartet’s Moonstone & Tar Sands album on Dexter Bentley’s show Sat 18 May, 12-1.30pmUK (7amEST/11pmNZ) Hello Goodbe Show

Weekly Live YouTube Video Series

“Moonstone” Leila Adu Quintet ft. Jacob Bills 

Summer Happenings

Tanglewood Debut: Leila’s “United Underdog,” originally commissioned and premièred pianist by Min Kwon and featured on NPR and NBC. Leila Adu-Gilmore wrote about how she composed United Underdog amid the pandemic and the racial upheaval of the last several years. “I was moved to honor those people who work hard and struggle daily — together yet apart — for the common good of all of us,” she said on her website. Leila’s piece will be performed by a Tanglewood fellow, alongside works by Miya Masaoka, Trevor Weston, Valerie Coleman, Nathalie Joachim, Tania León and Steven Mackey at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Lenox/Stockbridge, MA
July 25, 8PM Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music

Magdalene Opera, West Coast Premiere Magdalene wildly meditates on transformation and desire scored by the collective voice of fourteen women composers: Leila Adu, Ruby Kato Attwood, Danielle Birrittella, Sheena Birrittella, Christina Courtin, Gabrielle Herbst, Molly Joyce, Emma O’Halloran, Tanner Porter, Ellen Reid, Kamala Sankaram, Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir, Annika Socolofsky, and Gyða Valtýsdóttir, set to Marie Howe’s poems.
June 4 – 8, 8PM Magdalene @Redcat, Los Angeles 

On Saturday Leila is interviewed on Resonance FM London Streaming Radio Station about Moonstone & Tar Sands album on Dexter Bently’s Hello Goodbe Show, Sat 18 May, 12-1.30pm GMT!

Moonstone & Tar Sands just had it’s first write-up on stalwart NZ reviewer Graham Reid’s Elsewhere. 

‘Working here her trio and the PUBLIQuartet on strings, the pianist/singer skirts between genres (piano jazz, sung poetry, the melodrama of Broadway-like tunes) and – although they are quite dissimilar – the connection which comes to mind is Nina Simone for the expansive and exploratory vision.

On Negative Space she sings, “I’m no militant, I’m a peaceful kinda girl. I don’t aim to stake out my claim I just wanna do my thing about the place, but I exist in a negative space”…

For their intimacy and dense lyrics, these are songs you can imagine in a cabaret or hip nightclub setting, maybe even in a recital more than a larger concert setting.

Something as quiet, serious and cathartic as the stately, string-enhanced Tar Sands requires close attention: “I’m going on holiday, gonna sunbathe my troubles away so my pen, can cut a page again and move on.

“I bathe in music today to wash the pain away. Eyes are peeled like an onion skin, no surprises. Button up your mouth for what I’m about to say, stupidity is a silly word but pride and vanity go a long way.“I’ve seen the coward in the mouth of the wolf. And the fear and the blame. Kindness starts only with the self. Care for the mind every day . . .’

Listen to the live version of “Tar Sands” on today on the LEILA ADU YouTube

Henry Wong Doe released his new album Perspectives, featuring “DOM” (labelled as Home in the tracklist) by Leila Adu-Gilmore on November 9th.

The album features recent commissions for solo piano featuring works by Gemma Peacocke, Leila Adu-Gilmore, Alex Taylor, Poulima Salima, Leonie Holmes, and Penelope Axtens.

“This album celebrates the artistry of six New Zealand composers. The recent pandemic presented significant challenges to musical artists, causing many to reflect on their values and identify what is most important to them. As we come to appreciate the importance of interpersonal connection, music becomes increasingly important as a way to bring people together and express our shared humanity.

In 2022, I invited each composer to write a work illustrating their perspective on recent times, and it has been wonderful to discover their unique voices and sensibilities through music.” – Henry Wong Doe

The album was released on Rattle Records and can be streamed or purchased on Bandcamp.

Doe will be performing the premiere of the work at:
Interactive Series: Immersive Piano and Electronics
Thursday, November 30th at 8PM at The Paulson Center, 620
181 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012