L-R: Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean and Madeleine Gaudin of Writers in the Schools (WITS); Gloria Bounds and Olivia Koch of the CenterPoint Energy Foundation; Giuseppe Taurino, Aubrey Burghardt, and Amy Evans of WITS during a grant check presentation at the WITS office in July 2025 / Courtesy of WITS
A recent major grant from the CenterPoint Energy Foundation will allow Writers in the Schools, a Houston-based literary education nonprofit, to launch a pilot expansion of its programs into more schools in the Greater Houston area.
“With CenterPoint Energy Foundation’s support, WITS will be able to expand into communities where access to arts education is severely limited, and reach more children with transformative creative writing experiences that develop literacy, self-expression, and confidence,” said Giuseppe Taurino, WITS’ Executive Director, in a statement.
By placing professional writers and spoken word artists in classrooms and offering after-school programs in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, WITS aims to reach “approximately 200 additional students—the equivalent of 10 classrooms—with at least 12 hours of dynamic writing instruction over a semester,” according to a press release.
Funded by shareholders, the CenterPoint Energy Foundation seeks to invest in programs that promote education, community vitality, and workforce development. The Foundation awards grants annually to eligible organizations in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas, to serve the communities where the company has a business presence.
“By investing in WITS, we are helping more students discover the joy of writing and the power of their own voices,” said Alicia Dixon, the Foundation’s Director of Community Relations, in a statement.
In addition to supporting WITS’ pilot expansion, which will also receive support from the Powell Foundation, the CenterPoint Energy Foundation grant will be used to help sustain WITS’ existing programs within HISD, which reaches more than 4,500 students annually.
D is for Dance: Dancing Through the Diaspora is a children’s alphabet book written by Stacey Allen and illustrated by Brynne Henry / courtesy of Stacey Allen
Dancemaker, educator, and author Stacey Allen says she carries a message in her work.
“Especially in this moment, where erasure is real and showing up everywhere, particularly in literature, we have to give our children stories that are empowering and rooted in truth,” she said.
Illustrated by Houston artist Brynne Henry, D is for Dance celebrates the movement, history, and legacy of the African Diaspora—using each letter to tell stories about groundbreaking dancers, iconic dance styles, and cultural traditions.
This marks Allen’s second collaboration with Henry. Their first book together was A Little Optimism Goes a Long Way—a story about a young girl who discovers her joy of dancing, inspired by legendary dancer Katherine Dunham—which earned the 2024 Children’s Publication Award from the National Association of Multicultural Education.
“When I was teaching full time in schools, I needed more resources on African American Dance History—so I made them,” Allen shared in a social media post. “Both of my books were born out my commitment to fill that gap.”
That gap has been documented by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), which has been surveying diversity in children’s literature annually since 1994. Of the 3,619 books for children and teens received by the CCBC that were published in 2024, 13% were by Black/African authors/illustrators and 16% were about Black/African characters, settings, or topics. Those percentages have been steadily increasing since 2019, when only 5.5% children’s book were by Black/African creators and 11.8% contained Black/African content.
Allen’s message of empowerment, inclusion, and cultural identity reflects efforts toward more diverse stories for children in recent years. Overall diversity in children’s literature is at an all-time high, according to the CCBC, which reported that in 2024, for the first time, more than half (51%) of the books they surveyed contained significant BIPOC characters, settings, or topics.
Houston Arts Journal reached out to Stacey Allen for the following interview:
Stacey Allen / courtesy of the artist
Houston Arts Journal: Tell us a little about yourself as an artist and as a Houstonian.
Stacey Allen: I’m always thinking about how I want to define myself. Sometimes I use the term “multidisciplinary artist,” and other times I say “dance artist and educator,” because that’s where my practice mostly lives. But I really like to think of myself as a storyteller who works through multiple mediums, with a focus on telling the stories of Black women and girls.
My passion for education is what really fueled my desire to write these books. As a former public school teacher, I was often searching for resources to teach my students about African American dance history. That was the genesis of these two book projects: A Little Optimism Goes a Long Way, and now, D is for Dance: Dancing Through the Diaspora.
I grew up in the Houston area—Missouri City, to be exact. “Mo City,” as we affectionately call it. For me, growing up in the late ’90s and early 2000s, this was my Black Mecca. I was surrounded by working- and middle-class Black families. We went to church not far from home, and before I started public school, I went to a private Christian school that emphasized African American history. I later attended two public schools named after Black leaders—Edgar Glover Elementary and Thurgood Marshall High School, both in Fort Bend ISD.
That environment really nurtured my love for culture. Of course, my parents and family poured into me too, but I never saw my cultural upbringing as something deficient. I grew up in a version of Houston that was diverse, vibrant, and deeply multicultural. So when people talk about Houston becoming known as a Black city, that resonates with me, because Missouri City already felt like that.
HAJ: How did you discover your love of dance?
SA: As a young girl, I grew up dancing in church. You’ll see in the book that “W is for Worship Dance,” because my church experience was central. We did praise dance at church, and I also took classes at a local dance studio not far from where I grew up. Then in high school, I joined the dance team.
That was really the beginning of my love for dance. And as I got older and met other people, I realized that story wasn’t unique—so many of us grew up dancing in church, maybe taking a few classes at a neighborhood studio, and then joining a school dance team. At my high school, which was predominantly African American, we performed majorette-style routines. That’s why “M is for Majorette” shows up in the book—it’s a direct reflection of how I came up in Houston.
An excerpt from D is for Dance: Dancing Through the Diaspora, written by Stacey Allen and illustrated by Brynne Henry / courtesy of the artists
HAJ: Why did you want to write this book, and what was the initial spark that inspired it?
SA: I’ve been able to experience so much through dance—it’s shown me how the world is so big and so small at the same time. Through dance, I’ve traveled, met people from all over, and been part of something bigger than myself. I wanted young readers to have that experience too.
I want them to see that movement connects us all. It connects us to each other, to our ancestors, and to our future.
HAJ: The book’s title is D is for Dance, but inside, the letter D stands for Dunham. Can you tell us a little about Katherine Dunham and her influence on you as an artist?
SA: Katherine Dunham—oh my goodness. This isn’t a spoiler alert, but if you haven’t read my first book, A Little Optimism Goes a Long Way, I highly recommend it. That book centers a young girl who looks up to Katherine Dunham.
To me, she’s the epitome of dance and activism. She was an anthropologist who studied dance from all over the world—especially Afro-Caribbean traditions—and brought those styles to the stage. I’ve read that Alvin Ailey saw Katherine Dunham’s company and was inspired to pursue dance. So when you think about the level of impact she had on movement and cultural studies, it’s just beyond legendary.
And for a Black woman to be doing that kind of work in her time? That’s something people need to know. So even though she’s a central figure in my first book, I wanted to be sure she had a place in this one too.
HAJ: I love that Houston makes an appearance in the book under “H is for Hip Hop” and “Z is for Zydeco.” What other letters were particularly fun or deeply personal for you to pair with stories?
SA: Honestly, I had fun with every letter. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but it took a long time to figure out which ones to include. For example, for the letter “S,” I went back and forth—should it be Second Line? Samba? Salsa? So many Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latinx dance forms could have made the list. There were several letters I had multiple ideas for, and then a few that were honestly harder to fill. But where I landed, I feel really good about.
And yes—look, I know hip hop started in New York, but I also know “the South got something to say” (quote from Andre 3000) and has contributed so much to the culture. There was no way I was going to make a book about the African diaspora and not include the SouthSide. That was just never going to happen.
Same with Zydeco—what is more Texas-Louisiana than that? “Z is for Zydeco” had to be in there.
I also really wanted the book to reflect my roots in what I call the Afro Gulf Coast—places across the South where there are large concentrations of Black people because of the legacy of chattel slavery, and where cultural innovation continues today. We’ve made so much out of very little, and that creativity deserves to be centered.
HAJ: Place, family, and motherhood seem important in your work as a choreographer. I see these themes in your piece The Fairy Tale Project and in this book. How do they guide and motivate you as an artist?
SA: Place is how we understand the world and ourselves in it. I can’t talk about who I am without talking about where I come from.
I’m a descendant of a freedom colony “Eleven Hundred” in East Texas. My mom’s side of the family came from there, and my grandparents later moved to Oak Cliff. My dad’s side left rural Mississippi, went up to Niagara Falls, and eventually settled in Buffalo—in the Fruit Belt, an African American neighborhood. My parents raised us in Missouri City, a rising Black suburb at the time.
So when I talk about placemaking, I’m talking about all of that. That’s also why I will always reference the groundbreaking work Texas Freedom Colonies Project and The Outsider Preservation Initiative led by Dr. Andrea Roberts. Her work shows there were over 500 places in Texas founded by Black people post-emancipation. That history of land ownership, community building, and cultural preservation is powerful—and it’s relevant now, especially as more people consider moving back to the South or starting to homestead.
Motherhood has made me even more focused on legacy. I was an educator before I was a mother, but becoming a parent deepened that passion. I’m not one of those artists who says, “You just take what you take from the work.” No—I have a message. Especially in this moment, where erasure is real and showing up everywhere, particularly in literature, we have to give our children stories that are empowering and rooted in truth.
Houston illustrator, mixed-media artist, and educator Brynne Henry / courtesy of the artist
HAJ: This is your second collaboration with artist Brynne Henry. What draws you to her art, and can you share a little about your process together?
SA: Brynne and I were connected by our families—so that’s how I first became familiar with her work. And honestly, her work is just beautiful. I hope readers take time with both books—D is for Dance: Dancing Through the Diaspora and A Little Optimism Goes a Long Way—and really absorb the care and detail in her illustrations.
Our process this time was even more involved. I finished the first draft of D is for Dance while I was in Senegal, so I had a lot of source material. The tree on the cover, for example, comes directly from a photo I took during that trip and holds symbolic meaning. I sent Brynne tons of visual references—because we’re both educators, and we wanted readers to see not just dance history, but also visual culture and material culture from Africa and the African diaspora throughout the book.
HAJ: What are your hopes for this book?
SA: I hope people see themselves in this book. I want readers—especially children—to remember that everybody can dance. Dance is for everyone. It’s a gift we should all be able to experience.
I also hope people understand how movement has carried us—not just in the physical sense, but in the cultural and spiritual sense. Movement connects generations. It’s tied to identity, resistance, joy, and healing. And I hope people see that movement can be the beginning of other movements—social, political, creative.
Finally, I hope this book becomes an educational resource. A tool that opens up new ideas, introduces new histories, and brings young readers into new worlds.
Sixteen youth teams from around the world competed in this year’s semi-finals. Meta4 Houston made the Top Four—along with teams from Orlando (Exodus United), Nashville (Southern Word), and Baltimore (Dew More)—advancing to the Final Stage and winning the competition on July 20.
This marks the second consecutive year that Houston has taken the title as top youth poetry team in the country, following the team’s historic 2023 win and Top Ten performances in past years.
Founded in 2007, Meta4 Houston is a program of the literary arts education nonprofit Writers in the Schools (WITS). Six teen poets are selected each year through competition at the annual Space City Grand Slam.
This year’s Meta4 Houston team includes four new members and two returning members: Bela Kalra (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), Amaya Newsome (Humble High School), Cristina Perez-Ruiz (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), Mya Skelton (Humble High School), and returning teammates Samiyah Green (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts) and Adriana Winkelmayer (Emery/Weiner Jewish School).
Considered one of largest, long-running youth slam festivals in the world, Brave New Voices aims to encourage and amplify youth voices by connecting poetry, spoken word, youth development, and civic engagement.
“We are proud to be two-time champions of Brave New Voices, spreading youth expression and literacy through poetry slam,” stated Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean, former Houston Poet Laureate and Meta4 Houston head coach, in an email.
Bean and Alinda “Adam” Mac, Assistant Coach and Meta4 Houston alum, mentored the team, as they wrote, choreographed, and rehearsed a collection of poems inspired by their experiences living in Houston. At Brave New Voices, the 2024 Meta4 Houston team performed original poems “on difficult topics including Texas climate change, gun violence, fast fashion, the human condition, and how the best role model is one willing to make change,” according to WITS.
On social media, Bean shared photos that documented the final days of preparation leading up to winning the competition:
“We’re ecstatic for the Meta4 Houston Fellows. These powerful young artists have been hard at work honing their craft for months and are deserving of this great win,” said Giuseppe Taurino, WITS Executive Director, in a statement.
“Their dedication to exploring, investigating, and genuinely interacting with the world around them is inspiring,” said Taurino.
Houston is home to an active slam poetry scene, which includes both youth and adults. Earlier this summer, Smoke Slam—featuring Houston Poet Laureate Aris Kian Brown, LeChell “The Shootah,” R.J. Wright, Blacqwildflowr, and Sherrika Mitchell, coached by Ebony Stewart—also brought home a national title, taking first place at the 2024 Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Pompano Beach, Florida in June.
L-R: Võ Đức Quang is the new Interim Executive Director of Public Poetry, and Jesús Pacheco is the new Executive and Artistic Director of Houston Early Music / Courtesy of Public Poetry and Houston Early Music
The Houston literary nonprofit, Public Poetry, recently named poet, host, and community leader, Võ Đức Quang as its Interim Executive Director, effective immediately.
Founded in 2011, Public Poetry has expanded its programs over the years to include a free monthly Reading Series in partnership with the City of Houston/Houston Public Library, the annual REELpoetry International Film Festival, poetry contests, and publications.
Public Poetry showcases the enduring power of poetry, conveying poetry’s range, relevance and reach throughout the year. Working locally, nationally and internationally, we sustain diverse minority voices, layer multiple genres, encourage collaboration, commission new work, and create new opportunities and paid work for poets. We initiate collaborative partnerships and engagement to enrich the community and to deliver poetry to audiences in Houston and beyond.
– Public Poetry Mission Statement
“My goal is to continue Public Poetry’s outreach to artists, and showcase talents to audiences in Houston and beyond,” said Võ in a statement.
Võ succeeds Founding Director Fran Sanders, who announced her intention to step down last summer and will now concentrate her time on the REELpoetry film festival.
Since November 2022, Võ has managed and hosted Public Poetry’s monthly Reading Series and Open Mic—a role that he will continue to be involved in as Interim Executive Director.
Considered the organization’s flagship program, the Reading Series transitioned from an in-person only series to a hybrid online/in-person series following the COVID-19 shutdown. Võ will work to maintain the hybrid model, which he said has attracted a larger audience outside of Houston and across the United States.
“Public Poetry should make use of our strengths to showcase poets beyond Houston, give young emerging poets a venue to hone their craft, and bridge different forms of poetry,” said Võ in an email to Houston Arts Journal. “As of now I am still managing the series, which is my passion, though I have considered having guest hosts to keep the program lively.”
Võ told Houston Arts Journal that he also aims to achieve proposed financial and organizational goals over the course of the next year in order to bring Public Poetry “up-to-date.”
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Houston Early Music recently appointed internationally-renowned Houston percussionist and music educator Jesús Pacheco as its new Executive and Artistic Director.
“Having performed with all the major early music groups in Houston, Jesús brings a uniquely qualified perspective and passion for this genre. In addition, being a native of Spain, Jesús has an intense appreciation for the importance of highlighting various international expressions of early music to appeal to the diverse Houston audiences,” said Houston Early Music in a social media post on July 15.
A graduate of the Seville Conservatory in Spain, Pacheco has performed with international ensembles such as the Royal Symphonic Orchestra of Sevilla, the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra, and the Bach Collegium-Stuttgart Bachakademie.
He has collaborated widely with Houston ensembles, including Apollo Chamber Players, Ars Lyrica Houston, Bach Society Houston, The Houston Brass Band, Houston Grand Opera, The Magnolia City Brass Band, Mercury Houston, Octave Illusion, and others.
Along with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte, Pacheco is the co-founder and co-director of Arte Puro, an organization “with the mission to bring Hispanic music and art to the stage through musical fusion and artistic collaboration.” He also teaches at The Awty International School.
“Jesús is a versatile percussionist who thrives in the culturally varied music scene of Houston, where he performs styles ranging from early and classical music to contemporary styles such as musical theatre, Latin music, and flamenco,” said Houston Early Music in a statement.
“[We are] most fortunate to have him serve in this dual role [of Executive and Artistic Director] and we are excited and anxious to see his skills unfold in the curation of our future seasons,” stated the organization.
Pacheco succeeds Julia Simpson in the role.
Initially formed in 1965 as the Houston Harpsichord Society, Houston Early Music “presents historically informed performances of music from the Medieval through Classical periods by internationally-recognized artists” through an annual season of concerts and programs.
Full Disclosure: Houston Arts Journal’s Catherine Lu was featured as an independent poet on Public Poetry’s Reading Series in June 2024.
Poet Elizabeth Hsu / Courtesy of Writers in the Schools
Elizabeth Hsu, a student at University of Texas Online High School, has been named the 2023-2024 Houston Youth Poet Laureate, as appointed by Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Hsu’s one-year term officially begins on November 16, 2023, following a commencement ceremony. She becomes the city’s 8th Youth Poet Laureate, succeeding Ariana Lee, who is now a freshman at Stanford University.
“I’m honored to name Elizabeth as the next Youth Poet Laureate,” said Mayor Turner in a statement. “She is thoughtful and civic-minded, and her poetry reflects Houston’s future, and through her work, she will demonstrate how youth voices continue to shape the story of our city.”
An active member of the youth poetry community, Hsu was a semifinalist and the Texas Representative for the 2023-2024 National Student Poet competition. She is an alumna of the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship, the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, the Stanford Humanities Institute, and the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program: Between the Lines.
According to WITS, Hsu merges a love of place and identity into her poetry, and she loves the power of language, her friends and family, and her four cats. In addition to writing, Hsu is a classical singer and a member of the Houston Grand Opera Bauer High School Voice Studio.
at fifteen I feel like I’m barely a human. I’m fourteen pages of tests and charts, stuck all together with thumbtacks and flesh and a broken signature for feet.
As part of her appointment, Hsu will receive a $1000 scholarship and will work closely with Houston Poet Laureate Aris Kian as her mentor over the next year. Hsu will connect with the community through writing and poetry performance, as well as complete a project that serves Houstonians.
“My project is aimed at increasing youth accessibility to diverse literature and encouraging young people to write poetry, especially in the wake of library conversion and book bans,” said Hsu in a statement.
“Through public readings, workshops, and media outreach, the project aims to ensure access to diverse literature and nurture spaces for learning and exploration,” she said.
Leading up to her appointment by Mayor Turner, Hsu went through an application process, and then a selection process by a diverse group of poets, scholars, literary experts, and community representatives. This year’s committee included poet J. Estanislao Lopez, Raie Crawford of Performing Arts Houston, Rich Levy of Inprint, and Anthony Sutton of the University of Houston.
“Throughout the process, we were blown away by Elizabeth’s poetic talent and her thoughtful engagement with community issues,” said Giuseppe Taurino, WITS Executive Director in a statement. “We’re delighted to welcome another Youth Poet Laureate to the Houston stage.”
Attica Locke / Courtesy of Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University’s Toni Morrison Writing Program recently announced novelist, screenwriter, and TV producer Attica Locke as its 2023-2024 Writer-In-Residence.
A New York Times-bestselling author of five novels, Locke was nominated for an Edgar Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for her debut novel, Black Water Rising (2009). Her second book, The Cutting Season (2012), was a winner of the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and her third, Pleasantville (2015), was the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction.
A native of Houston who attended Alief Hastings High School, Locke began writing a series of thrillers set along Highway 59 with her novel, Bluebird, Bluebird (2017)—followed by Heaven, My Home (2019)—which she described in Texas Monthly as “a love letter to black Texans and a thank you to the ones who raised me.”
“Having Attica Locke as our 2023-2024 Toni Morrison Writing Program Writer-in-Residence is a winner for our students,” said Dr. Emma Joahanne Thomas-Smith, PVAMU Provost Emerita and Director of the Toni Morrison Writing Program, in a statement.
“She is a storyteller’s storyteller and so well versed in each aspect of writing. I am especially impressed with her adaptation of fiction for television and film production,” said Thomas-Smith.
Locke’s television career includes writing and producing the Netflix miniseries, When They See Us, directed by Ava Duvernay; Hulu’s limited series, Little Fires Everywhere; and the Fox drama Empire. Most recently, she developed and was the showrunner for the Netflix limited series From Scratch, starring Zoe Saldana and based on her sister Tembi Locke’s memoir.
Attica Locke (showrunner), far left, and Tembi Locke (executive producer), second from left, on the set of the Netflix series “From Scratch.” / Photo credit: Jessica Brooks/Netflix
According to organizers, Locke’s residency will include masterclasses with students, as well as public lectures in November 2023 and February 2024. In addition, she will visit local area middle and high schools to engage students in developing their storytelling skills.
The Toni Morrison Writing Program was established in March 2021 with a gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, a former student of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Toni Morrison. Scott donated $50 million to the University in October 2020, with $3 million of her gift to endow the program. The writing program also partners with the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice.
Giuseppe Taurino / Courtesy of Writers in the Schools
The long-running literary and education nonprofit Writers in the Schools recently announced writer, educator, and arts leader Giuseppe Taurino as its new Executive Director. Taurino began his role on September 1, 2023.
“Writers in the Schools’ mission is to connect children and youth with professional writers and spoken word artists to unlock the joy and power of storytelling and creative expression. Giuseppe’s profound dedication to creative writing, education, and community engagement will undoubtedly elevate our mission and impact the lives of countless young writers,” said Kalinda Campbell, WITS Board President, in a statement.
Taurino comes to WITS after having served nearly a decade as Associate Director of the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. His previous roles include Manager of Capacity Building Initiatives for Houston Arts Alliance and Executive Director of Badgerdog Literary Publishing in Austin. A graduate of the UH Creative Writing Program (MFA, 2006), Taurino is an award-winning writer who has been active in the Houston literary community as a Fiction Editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts and a co-curator of the Poison Pen Reading Series.
While Taurino is new to WITS’ leadership, he has had a long relationship with the organization, which began with his teaching writing workshops to young students in 2003.
“Between my time in grad school and the year following it, I worked as a WITS writer-in-residence at over 40 placements. I felt proud of the work I found myself a part of,” wrote Taurino in an open letter to the community.
“Here was a program (WITS) that not only facilitated the telling of young people’s stories but celebrated them. A program that granted permission and built a community that created a space for young people to engage the worth of their experiences and imagination because of the value they brought to the world,” he said.
Meta-Four Houston won First Place at the 2023 Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam. L-R: Alinda “Adam” Mac (Assistant Coach), Isabella Diaz-Mira, Myaan Sonenshein, Samiyah Green, Ariana Lee, Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean (Head Coach), and Kylan Denney / Photo by Sandrella Bush
Founded in 1983, WITS works with local educators, writers, and spoken word artists to teach students the craft of writing. Programs include creative writing summer camps and free workshops and public readings at parks, libraries, hospitals, and community centers.
WITS also co-sponsors and coordinates the Houston Youth Poet Laureate program, established in 2016 as one of the longest-running programs of its kind in Texas, as well as the Meta-Four Houston Youth Slam Poetry Team, which is currently ranked as the Top Youth Slam Poetry Team in the country.
Taurino says that he believes that engaging children in the joy of reading and writing is transformative and empowering.
“Looking ahead, my vision for the organization is simple. I want Writers in the Schools to be an organization that acts with conviction,” Taurino said. “And I unequivocally believe that WITS helps bolster the work of educators by unlocking pathways toward critical and creative thinking, which are the foundation for lifelong education in and out of the classroom.”
Federico De Michelis, bass-baritone and founder of The New Song Project / Courtesy of the artist
Houston opera singer Federico De Michelis says that the genre of “song” is so broad and accessible that it’s one of the great entry points to the performing arts—and it sparked an idea for a new arts organization.
“I want to build not only a project where [composers and writers] are supported and can develop their talent, but also a community around songwriting, storytelling, performing, and experiencing the power of music, theater, and literature,” said De Michelis.
With these goals in mind, the Argentina-born bass-baritone founded The New Song Project, which will present its inaugural concert on Sunday, August 20, 7pm at The Match.
The new song project (TNSP) looks to *support composers, writers and performers* to help them create new songs that speak to our contemporary society. 🎙️🤍
At the heart of De Michelis’ love of song is his belief in the power of storytelling, along with a desire to advance the “song” genre by commissioning works that reflect contemporary society.
“TNSP looks to support composers, writers and performers by creating a space in which new forms of song, literature and performance connect with the common goal of expressing the emotions and artistic expressions of our neo contemporary society,” states The New Song Project website.
For the project’s inaugural concert, De Michelis commissioned two song cycles, which explore themes of electronic communication, artificial intelligence, and anxiety. The program also includes a performance bilingual singer/songwriter Amanda Pascali, who created the “Immigrant American Folk Project.”
Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano / Ashkan Image
“These songs invite us to come in a person’s intimate space, and identify ourselves in their story,” said mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte, who will perform songs by Argentinian composer Lucho Guedes on the concert.
“I am excited to be part of this project because it pushes boundaries, and offers a variety of sounds and points of view into the world of new music,” she said.
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Houston Arts Journal reached out to Federico De Michelis for the following interview about The New Song Project, his experiences in the Houston arts community, and more:
Houston Arts Journal: When, and why, did you start The New Song Project?
Federico De Michelis: I started working on the idea of The New Song Project a year ago. It took some time to give it shape, find the right partners to fund the pilot season of the project, and then of course find the right artists I wanted to work with.
I started it because I believe in the power of storytelling, and I felt there’s a lot to explore and develop. Performers need stories to tell, and TNSP aims to support those that write these stories both literally and musically.
HAJ: Based on your bio, you’ve been active in the Houston arts community for many years. Could you share a little bit about your relationship to Houston and experience in the local arts? Why did you choose to stay in Houston?
FDM: I moved to Houston in 2015 to join the Opera Studio of the Houston Grand Opera. I stayed in the Studio for two seasons, and then I began my career as a freelance singer. But I never left! I’ve been living here ever since.
Houston is a great city that still has tremendous growth potential in the arts. I love the diversity, the support we have from a very strong community of donors, the sports scene (as most Argentines, I can’t be too far away from a soccer pitch) and of course, the food! I met my wife here as well, and we are happy here. Now, having founded a new arts organization in town I feel an even bigger sense of belonging, and I want to help the development of the city’s cultural landscape.
HAJ: Were you trying to address a particular need in the community by creating The New Song Project?
FDM: A key part of this project is working on generating opportunities for writers and composers. There’s very little support, if any, for composers and even less for writers that are interested in writing for the performing arts. The genre of “song” is so broad and accessible for all that I consider it one of the great entryways to all the performing arts. I want to build not only a project where these creatives are supported and can develop their talent, but also a community around songwriting, storytelling, performing, and experiencing the power of music, theater, and literature.
HAJ: You wrote on social media that “The new song project (TNSP) looks to support composers, writers and performers to help them create new songs that speak to our contemporary society.” What do you mean by “new songs that speak to our contemporary society,” and why is that important to you?
Speaking to our contemporary society for me means speaking about our language, our expressions, our problematics, our joys, our fears … but it also implies the “How” we speak about these things. That’s why a very important part of the vision I had for this project is to work with writers.
One of the weakest points in the performing arts today is the development of writers. And we cannot have a good story without finding these writers, working with them, offering them support, classes, teaching them how to write for theater, for voices, showing them around the great masterpieces of theater, opera, chamber music, etc. We, as artists, must always remember the audience doesn’t come to see us onstage, they come to see themselves. As cliché as that affirmation is, I believe it to be true.
HAJ: Your website states that one of your goals is to “Create a safe space for composers, writers, and performers to explore and expand in their craft.” Do you think safe spaces for artistic experimentation can be hard to find? How do you create that supportive, safe space for artists?
FDM: I believe it’s a very tricky time. Freedom of speech is in check. And the arts are of course affected by this as well. What I want for TNSP is to create a space where artists can speak and create without fear or boundaries.
HAJ: You also note that another goal is to “Support composers and writers by paying them for new commissions.” May I ask how you’re funded?
FDM: We’re funded by our donors. I’ve been lucky enough to meet supporters in the opera industry that believe in my artistry on stage and now trust my vision as an administrator. These individuals not only have the enormous generosity to donate to these organizations, but most importantly they have the commitment to help artists grow in their crafts and understand the importance of the arts in our society.
HAJ: Tell me about your inaugural concert. What artists have come together to perform? Were new works commissioned for this program – and if so, what kinds of stories will be told?
FDM: We commissioned two song cycles for our inaugural concert and season. One composed by Argentine writer, composer, and researcher Lucho Guedes, and one by producer, singer, and composer Dominic Delzompo (aka Intrnet Boyfriend – yes, without the e).
Lucho Guedes, composer and songwriter / Courtesy of Federico De Michelis
Lucho is coming all the way from Buenos Aires and is one of my favorite songwriters of today. For TNSP he wrote three pieces for guitar and voice. The common theme in his writing for this cycle of songs is our new forms of communication, text messages, video calls, etc, and how we deal with them emotionally, how we relate to each other through them. He wrote the songs in Spanish, and his language is simple and colloquial as much as it is direct and profound. He will also perform some of his older songs with another great local artist, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte.
Dominic Delzompo (aka Intrnet Boyfriend), baritone and composer / Courtesy of Federico De Michelis
The second cycle is composed by Dominic. He wrote a cycle of five songs for voice and piano (I’ll be the singer for this one), in which the character is feeling anxious and lonely. While trying to find answers to his sadness, he starts a conversation, a sort of interview, a questionnaire, with an AI program. Dominic’s writing always draws me in not only because of the harmonic language he uses in his music (lots of references to French impressionism mixed with jazz in this cycle), but also because his characters always speak in a tender, human way that is so incredibly relatable.
We will also have a special performance by Amanda Pascali. Amanda is one of my favorite Houston artists. She created a genre she calls “Immigrant American Folk.” She always says this quote in her concerts, which I think is very relatable to many of us, particularly here in Houston: “too foreign for here, too foreign for home, and never enough for both.” Amanda will be one of our composers for next season, I can’t wait to see what we come up with.
I am very excited and really honored that these artists will be performing in our first season.
Amanda Pascali, singer and songwriter / Courtesy of Federico De Michelis
HAJ: Lastly, I’d like to ask about your personal love of music. Your bio states that you grew up listening to your father’s albums: “From Chick Corea to Piazzolla, from Willie Colon and Ruben Blades to Luis Alberto Spinetta and Jose Alfredo Jimenez, by the age of 13 he had a good idea of what music meant for him and the role it would play in his life.” What does music mean to you – and has it changed from childhood to adulthood?
FDM: Music is everything to me. It gave me everything I have and taught me everything I know. Like most of us, there isn’t one important moment in my life that isn’t musicalized in some way. It’s just a part of who I am.
What changed from childhood to now is the understanding that, for me, it was always the storytelling that kept me coming back. I realized that when I started in opera and began frequenting theaters and reading more about it—and understanding music from a theatrical, dramatical point of view. Even in music that doesn’t have words, the storytelling in the music and the way we are carried away and absorbed and touched by these harmonies is what I think is magical about it. Music makes a huge difference in everyone’s lives and that’s what I’m embarking on this journey.
Meta-Four Houston at Brave New Voices 2023. L-R: Alinda “Adam” Mac (Assistant Coach), Isabella Diaz-Mira, Myaan Sonenshein, Samiyah Green, Ariana Lee, Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean (Head Coach), and Kylan Denney / Photo by Sandrella Bush
Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean says that he is “immensely proud” of the 2023 Meta-Four Houston team and the poems that they wrote and brought to life this summer, which led to the team’s first ever win at the Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam.
Bean, a Houston Poet Laureate Emeritus, champion performance poet, and educator, has coached the youth slam poetry team since 2009. He says it “means to world” to him to have witnessed the teen poets at work and to have guided them through choreography, edits, and revisions to bring out their best.
“Meta-Four Houston has been one of the reasons why I anchored myself to this city and still call it home,” said Bean in an email to Houston Arts Journal.
“Poetry is a world that’s made of your thoughts and brings more out of you than one may realize. I have been impacted by poetry, and it has shaped my worldview and has been saving grace for so many people,” he said. “I have made a career here in Houston, and it’s because of the power of poetry.”
During the Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival—one of the oldest and largest youth poetry festivals in the world—Meta-Four Houston took first place at the Slam Competition on July 22, 2023 in San Francisco.
According to a press release, 20 teams from around the world competed in this year’s semi-finals. The top four teams (Houston, New York, Nashville, and Sacramento) then advanced to four rounds of spoken word performances in the finals, where Houston won.
While Meta-Four Houston has performed well at Brave New Voices in the past—ranking as a Top Ten team in 2014 and 2017 and scoring only a tenth of a point short of making the final stage in 2017, according to Bean—this year’s achievement is a historic win: the first time for Houston to take the title as the top youth poetry team in the country.
To prepare, the poets work together to come up with ideas and concepts, which often engage with social issues. Then they create and write group pieces, as well as individual pieces, which are set to original choreography. There are hours of intense practice, along with practice competitions.
At Brave New Voices, Meta-Four Houston performed poems that contemplated topics such as women’s health, the refugee crisis, the human condition, and race relations.
VIDEO: Meta-Four Houston performs their poem “Lifesaver” on the Brave New Voices Final Stage, July 22, 2023 at the Herbst Theater, San Francisco / Courtesy of Alinda “Adam” Mac
Founded in 2007, Meta-Four Houston is made up of six Houston teens, selected annually at the Space City Grand Slam, who represent the city at local and national performances and competitions. The program is run by Writers in the Schools, which aims to provide students with opportunities to discover their voices, amplify personal stories, and develop community and global awareness through writing and poetry.
The members of Meta-Four Houston are:
Kylan Denney, a 2023 graduate of Humble High School, who will attend Stanford University
Isabella Diaz-Mira, a 2023 graduate from St. John’s School, who will attend Washington University in St. Louis
Samiyah Green, a rising sophomore at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Ariana Lee, Houston Youth Poet Laureate and a 2023 graduate of St. John’s School, who will attend Stanford University
Myaan Sonenshein, a rising 11th grader at Kinder HSPVA
According to the most recent survey of U.S. trends in arts attendance and literary reading by the National Endowment for the Arts, the share of 18-24 year-olds who read poetry more than doubled between 2012 and 2017, jumping from 8% in 2012 to 17% in 2017.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, visits to the website Poets.org went up by 30%.
Texas has also seen an increase in the number of Poet Laureate positions, with Austin naming its first Youth Poet Laureate in 2021 and Dallas inaugurating both an Adult and a Youth Poet Laureate in 2022.
“Poetry has given me community and a way to more deeply connect with the world and other people,” said Ariana Lee in an email to Houston Arts Journal.
“This is my second year on the team, and I’ve been lucky to receive coaching from Outspoken Bean and Blacqwildflowr, as well as Adam Mac and Norah Rami, who were both previous members of Meta-Four,” she said. “With their help, I’ve grown more confident in my writing, speaking, and performance abilities, and I’ve made life-long friendships.”
Lee said that she discovered her love of poetry during the pandemic, when she started watching slam poetry videos online—and became inspired and compelled to try it.
“Some of the very first slam poetry videos I ever saw were of youth teams competing at Brave New Voices, so winning Brave New Voices was a full-circle moment,” she said.
Writers in the Schools will host a public celebration of Meta-Four Houston’s championship on August 15, 2023, from 7-9pm, at Stages.
The Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Cultural Trust have announced that the application cycle is now open for the 2024 class of Young Masters, described as “a joint initiative that provides exemplary Texas student artists in grades 8-11 with the financial help they need to pursue advanced study in the areas of visual arts, literary arts, music, theater, dance, musical theater, folk arts, and media arts.”
Awardees will receive grants of $5,000 per year (for up to two years, with submission of a report and update required) to fund their studies in their respective artistic fields.
Applicants must be 8th through 11th grade students who are legal U.S. residents living in Texas and participating in a school-based program, a summer institute, or a specialized course of study or receiving private lessons from a qualified professional instructor, as stated in a press release.
A panel of arts experts from across the state will review applications based on artistic excellence, level of commitment, and quality of their proposed plan of study.
“The Young Masters grant program was created as a way to recognize and support young people pursuing the dream of becoming prominent Texan artists of the next generation,” said Gary Gibbs, Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director, in a statement.
“We look forward to receiving applications from candidates who are already demonstrating outstanding artistic ability, talent, and dedication to developing their knowledge in their chosen discipline,” he said.
According to a press release, Texas Commission on the Arts and Texas Cultural Trust have given 401 grants to 184 Young Masters, awarding more than $1.2 million to date.
In 2022, 15 Young Masters were awarded grants, including four students from the Greater Houston area (Natalie Hampton, Houston – Literary Arts; Gabi Wager Saldivar, Houston – Musical Theater; Bryant Li, Katy – Music; Aarushi Lakhi, Pearland – Dance). The 2024 grantees will represent the 12th class of Young Masters, whose roster dates back to 2002.
“We are thrilled to help these Young Masters take their education to the next level and bolster their creative training. This program opens doors to opportunities never imagined for these young artists and cultivates the Texas legends of tomorrow,” said Heidi Marquez Smith, Texas Cultural Trust Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.
Applications and more information are available here. There is no application fee.
Artists with disabilities can find information on alternative ways to apply here.
Deadline to apply is November 1, 2023. Grantees will be notified by April 1, 2024 and will be honored at a celebration in spring 2024 in Austin.
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