Composed by Belmont School of Music faculty member Dr. Jeffery Ames, Requiem for Colour is a musical, literary and visual journey that begins in West Africa and ends in present day North America. A groundbreaking work blending genres from classical to R&B, oration to spoken word, Ames’ Requiem for Colour is a powerful original orchestral and choral experience. Dr. Ames shares that this unique work “honors the lives and legacies of enslaved blacks from 1619 to 1865, and our contemporary Black martyrs who offered themselves as a sacrifice for equality and freedom.”

From the highly accomplished conductor, composer, and professor, this composition is a labor of love that explores and honors the experiences of generations of Black people and their descendants. Informed by his Christian faith and the traditions of gospel roots, Ames has created a work that spans generations in reckoning with our current societal vices of racism and injustice.

Dr. Jeffery Ames has performed and guest conducted internationally in the countries of Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, South Korea, and the Republic of Ghana. An accomplished accompanist, he has performed and collaborated with well-known conductors such as André Thomas, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Lynne Gackle, and Anton Armstrong. Additionally, he has collaborated with well-known celebrities such as Trisha Yearwood, Laura Bell Bundy, CeCe Winans, Connie Smith, Ricky Skaggs and The Whites, internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, Michael W. Smith, Kathy Mattea, Sheryl Crow, and legendary rock band the Rolling Stones.