When she composed Ceasefire, Zela Margossian didn’t have to imagine what it was like when the bombs stopped falling in a warzone. It was a vivid childhood memory from Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. The piece reflects the sheer joy of being able to leave the bunker to play…
Category: Features – Archive
She was the youngest member of a black family in a white part of Pittsburgh, whose neighbours showed their displeasure by lobbing bricks through the windows. By the age of three Mary Elfrieda Scruggs had taught herself to play spirituals and ragtime on the household organ, and by six she…