Date of Submission

Spring 2012

Academic Program

Music

Project Advisor 1

Erica Lindsay

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Concert I

“Bee Sugar: a sweet take on the music of soul”

Set List:

Because He Lives (Traditional hymn)

Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (Tom Wolf/Fran Landsman)

Ode to Nikki (Brianna Reed/poem by Nikki Giovanni)

When a Woman Loves a Man (Billie Holiday)

In the Midst of It All (Yolanda Adams/Kevin Bond)

Bee’s Lament (Brianna Reed)

Call Me (Aretha Franklin)

My first concert, “Bee Sugar, “ is a tribute to my musical history. It explores the humble beginnings of my love affair with music. I chose songs from genres of music I grew up listening to: gospel, jazz and classic soul. My inspiration and muse was my mother. She has been an important factor in my decisions as a musician and has motivated me to continue pursuing a life in music. All of the music I love comes from growing up in a household where there were constant melodies, harmonies, and thoughtful lyrics floating in the air. I originally planned to only sing songs that were by other musicians but I was inspired by my peers and advisor to compose my own songs. I wrote two songs entitled “Ode to Nikki” and “Bee’s Lament.” “Ode to Nikki” developed from my love of poet, Nikki Giovanni’s works. I used her poem A Poem of Friendship as the lyric to the song. I wanted every song to evoke an emotion from each audience member, hoping to welcome them into experiences and the history of my musical journey.

Concert II

“Bee Spice: a tale of a single bee”

Set List:

Bee’s Lament Redux (Brianna Reed)

So Glad (Joseph Tisdall, Brianna Reed)

Notice (Brianna Reed)

You Got Me (Brianna Reed)

BFF (Brianna Reed, arr. Zachary Seman)

Just Sex (Brianna Reed, Zachary Seman)

Show &Tell (Joseph Tisdall, Brianna Reed)

So Fast (Brianna Reed)

When I meet the love of my life I hope I recognize him and he sees me and we both catch the glimmer in each other’s eye and notice the familiarity. That we become friends first and are confident in finding the missing piece of ourselves. That each word we share is truth and loyalty. Support and motivation. Love and forgiveness. I have yet to find this love and if I do know him this just means I do not completely know myself enough to recognize that glimmer in his eyes.

Preparing for this senior project could only be done by living life. I had to experience joy, pain, love and heartbreak. I needed to have late nights out with friends and moments in solitude. Spontaneous lyric and poetry were summoned from my sub-conscience begging to be liberated through melodies and rhythms. The majority of my lyric topics stem from personal experiences exploring every emotion felt from either individual or collective memories. They tell the stories, including pain and joy, but always hopeful. I strived to inspire the audience as well as myself. A lot of the inspirational songs were conversations to myself that I knew would be relatable to others as well.

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