Black Opera Awarded AMS Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award

We are pleased to announce Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi André has won the American Musicological Society’s Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award!

The award committee said:

“Written with a critical eye and ear while also maintaining accessibility, Black Opera lifts the cone of silence over Black composers and their performers through intersectional analyses of race, gender, and sexuality. André necessarily and gracefully brings critical race literature into music studies and through her concept of engaged opera unlocks the form’s Afrodiasporic scope to include performances in both the U.S. and South Africa. Thoughtfully reflexive, Black Opera raises questions that should have been asked by scholars much sooner even as it graciously invites the next generation of scholars, students, and performers to build upon the work in order to create more inclusive space within the genre of opera.” 

Congratulations Naomi!


About Heather Gernenz

University of Illinois Press Publicity Manager