Noel G. Da Costa (24 December 1929 – 29 April 2002) was a Nigerian-Jamaican composer, jazz violinist, and choral conductor.

Early life and educational career

Noel Da Costa was born on 24 December 1929 Lagos, Nigeria to parents from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, who were

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

. After returning to Jamaica while Da Costa was young, they emigrated to New York City, living in Harlem. It was here that he started violin lessons with Barnabas Istok at the age of 11.Lucius R. Wyatt, "Noel Da Costa". '' Grove Music'' Online. (subscription required) While in High School, he was inspired by one of his teachers to work in an artistic field. Da Costa completed his Bachelor's at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

in 1952 and his Master's in theory and composition at Columbia University in 1956, studying with Otto Luening and

Jack Beeson Jack Hamilton Beeson (July 15, 1921 – June 6, 2010) was an American composer. He was known particularly for his operas, the best known of which are ''Lizzie Borden'', ''Hello Out There!'', and ''The Sweet Bye and Bye''. Early life Born in Muncie ...

. He studied with Luigi Dallapiccola in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

under a Fulbright Fellowship, and shortly thereafter in 1961 took positions teaching at

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

and the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

. In 1970 he accepted a position at Rutgers University, where he taught until 2001. He died the following year at the age of 72.

Musical career

Da Costa 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 Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press. Early life Les McCann was born in ...

, Roland Kirk,

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...

, Roberta Flack, McCoy Tyner,

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

, Felix Cavaliere, Willis Jackson, Eddie Kendricks, and others. His first music set to poetry being ''Tambourines'' by

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

. He also worked with choral groups, becoming the director of the Triad Choral in 1974, and played with both

Symphony of the New World The Symphony of the New World was a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It was the first racially integrated orchestra in the United States. The Symphony gave its debut concert on 6 May 1965 at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Benjamin Steinb ...

and several orchestras on Broadway theatre productions. Da Costa's works are marked by an infusion of elements of jazz, Caribbean music, and

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

into the framework of Western classical music. The '' New York Times'' has described his music as "conservatively

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, ...

." As well as exploring Caribbean musical traditions and black American spirituals Da Costa also explored freely atonal music and

serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...

, as seen in his Five Verses/With Vamps (1968), Occurrence for Six (1965) and Four Preludes (1973) for trombone and piano. Among DaCosta's students is Nkeiru Okoye.

Personal life

Da Costa was married to his wife Patricia, with whom he had a son and a daughter.

Discography

As sideman

* Ray Bryant, '' MCMLXX'' (Atlantic, 1970) * Carol Douglas, ''Come into My Life'' (

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

, 1979) * Felix Cavaliere, '' Felix Cavaliere'' (Bearsville, 1974) * Roberta Flack, '' Chapter Two'' (Atlantic, 1970) * Willis Jackson, ''Plays with Feeling'' (Cotillion, 1976) * Eddie Kendricks, ''Vintage '78'' (Arista 1978) * Webster Lewis, ''On the Town'' (Epic, 1976) *

, ''

Much Les ''Much Les'' is an album by jazz pianist Les McCann, recorded in 1968, and was his first released, in 1969, on the Atlantic label. Reception AllMusic gives the album 5 stars stating "One of Les McCann's greatest albums, ''Much Les'' encapsulat ...

'' (Atlantic, 1969) * Van McCoy, ''Soul Improvisations'' (Buddah, 1972) * Gwen McCrae, ''Gwen McCra''e (Atlantic, 1981) *

, '' Soul Is... Pretty Purdie'' (Flying Dutchman, 1972) *

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, ''Now Is the Time'' (Epic, 1982) * Ray, Goodman & Brown, ''Ray, Goodman & Brown II'' (Polydor, 1980) * Ray, Goodman & Brown, ''Stay'' (Polydor, 1981) * Archie Shepp, ''

The Cry of My People ''The Cry of My People'' is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp released in 1972 on the Impulse! label. The album features performances by Shepp with gospel singers, big bands, quintets, sextets, and chamber orchestras. The AllM ...

'' (Impulse!, 1973) *

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, '' Circle of Love'' (ATCO, 1975) *

Charles Tolliver Charles Tolliver (born 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and co-founder of Strata East Records. Biography Tolliver was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1942 and moved with his family to New York City when he was 10. During his chi ...

, '' Impact'' (1972) * The Tymes, ''Diggin' Their Roots'' (RCA Victor, 1977) * McCoy Tyner, '' Song of the New World'' (Milestone, 1973) * Sadao Watanabe, ''Rendezvous'' (Elektra, 1984)

Works

Dramatic

* The Cocktail Sip (op, 1, T. Brewster), 1958 * Dreamer Behind the Garden Gate (P. Da Costa), 1991 * Wakeupworld (C. Cullen), 1991 * 3 theatre pieces for children (1971–4) * 3 film scores (1975–86)

Vocal

Choral

* Little Lamb (Da Costa, after W. Blake: The Lamb), SATB, 1952 * Let Down the Bars O Death (E. Dickinson), SSATB, 1957 * We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder (spiritual), arr. SAATBB, 1962 * The Last Judgement (J.W. Johnson), narrator, SSA, piano, percussion, 1964 * 2 Shaker Songs (Lord's Prayer), SATB, 1964 * 2 Prayers of Kierkegaard (S. Kierkegaard), SA, children's chorus, organ, 1966 * The Confession Stone (cant., O. Dodson), S, SSA, instrumental ensemble, piano, 1969 * Five/Seven, SSA, organ, 1969 * Counterpoint (Dodson), S, A, T, B, SSATB, organs (2) piano, 1970 * Tambourines (L. Hughes), children's chorus, piano, bass guitar, 1970 * I Have a Dream (M.L. King), SATB, orchestra or organ, 1971 * O God of Light and Love (G. Bass), 1971 * A Ceremony of Spirituals, S, chorus, soprano and tenor saxophone, orchestra, 1976 * Sermon on the Warpland (G. Brooks), narrator, Tenor, Baritone, chorus, organ, 1979 * Generations (P. Da Costa), narrator, dancers, chorus, percussion, 1985 * Second Sermon on the Warpland (Brooks), narrator, solo vv, chorus, piano, 1989

Solo

* 2 Songs (L. Hughes), Soprano, piano, 1955 * 5 Epitaphs (C. Cullen), Soprano, string quartet, 1956 * In the Landscape of Spring (Zen Rinzai poems), Mezzo soprano, instrumental ensemble, 1962, rev. 1963 * 4 Glimpses of Night (F. Marshall), Baritone, instrumental ensemble, 1964 * 4 Haiku Settings (Kobayashi Issa, Taigi, Ryota, Chine Jo), Soprano, piano, 1964 * Vocalise, S, 1972 * Beyond the Years (P.L. Dunbar), Soprano, organ, 1973 * My People (Hughes), Mezzo soprano, piano, 1974 * November Song (concert scene, Brooks), Soprano, violin, sax, piano, 1974 * Prayer of Steel (C. Sandburg), Baritone, piano, 1975 * Dream Thoughts (Hughes), Tenor, piano, 1982 * In the Quiet of …, vocalise, Soprano, viola, vibraphone, 1985 * Blues Lyrics (R. Patterson), Bass-Baritone, piano, 1989–90

Instrumental Ensemble

* Generata, organ, string orchestra, 1958 * Epigrams, instrumental ensemble, 1965 * Occurrence for Six, instrumental ensemble, 1965 * 5 Verses/With Vamps, cello, piano, 1968 * Blue Mix, solo db/electric bass, cello, double bass, percussion, 1970 * Quietly … Vamp It and Tag It, orchestra, 1971 * Time … On and On, Soprano, violin, tenor sax, tape, 1971 * Jes' Grew, violin, electric piano, 1973 * 4 Preludes, trombone, piano, 1973 * Magnolia Blue, violin, piano, 1975 * Ukom Memory Songs, organ, percussion, 1981 * Primal Rites, drum, orchestra, 1983 * Blue Memories, orchestra, 1987

Solo

* Maryton, org, 1955 * Silver Blue, flute, 1966 * 3 Short Pieces, alto flute, 1968 * Chili'-Lo, organ, 1971 * Triptich, organ, 1973 * Spiritual Set, organ, 1974

Reference list

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:DaCosta, Noel 1929 births 2002 deaths 20th-century violinists 20th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers Jamaican expatriates in Nigeria Emigrants from British Jamaica to the United States Jazz violinists Male classical composers Male jazz musicians Musicians from Lagos MacDowell Colony fellows