Rosephanye Powell

Who is Rosephanye Powell?

Rosephanye Powell, pronounced ro-SEH-fuh-nee, is an American choral composer, singer, professor, and researcher.

Rosephanye Dunn Powell has been hailed as one of America's premier women composers of choral music. She has a diverse and impressive catalogue of works published by some of the nation’s leading publishers, including the Hal Leonard Corporation, the Fred Bock Music Company/Gentry Publications, Oxford University Press and Alliance Music Publications. Her compositions include sacred and secular works for mixed chorus, women's chorus, men's chorus, and children's voices. Her style of composition has been characterized by beautiful melodies, strong rhythmic emphasis, rich harmonies often derived from African-American popular styles, and varied vocal textures including counterpoint. Her influences include African-American musical styles; the choral works of J.S. Bach, G.F. Handel, Mozart and Verdi; the art songs of William Grant Still, Undine Smith Moore, Fernando Obradors, Samuel Barber, Emmanuel Chabrier; and the spiritual arrangements of H.T. Burleigh, J. Rosamond Johnson, William Dawson, Hall Johnson, Lena McLin, and Roland Carter.