"I like to educate as well as entertain," said Charsie Sawyer, Calvin professor of music. "I try to find these little gems that people usually don't see."

That is the basis for her new recording The Unknown Flower, due out in January 2000. The recording features Song Cycles of American women composers of the 20th Century.

"I wanted to feature women composers with the emphasis on African American women, who have not gotten the recognition they deserve," said Sawyer.

It's a project Sawyer has been pursuing for more than 20 years. "I've collected more than 100 women composers' vocal music," she said. "Classical music by African Americans has always been a big interest of mine. When people think of African American music they think of gospel, jazz, spirituals and even popular music," she said. "The classical genre of African Americans is ignored because it's a European tradition, but it doesn't belong just to the Europeans."

This notion is so strong though that in Sawyer's African American music class at Calvin, students are surprised when they hear classical music. "'It sounds just like Mozart or Beethoven,' they usually say," said Sawyer.

By performing works by a variety of American women, Sawyer hopes to gain exposure for this often overlooked group. The recording features Song Cycles by Valerie Capers, Libby Larsen, Lettie Beckon Alston, Betty Jackson King, Lena McLin and Jacquelyn Sellers.

"I think it's a very nice variety of style-all of it with a classical air. There are different piano techniques and different vocal techniques and some use bells or cello," she said. "But it is all very accessible for voice students."

Sawyer spoke personally with most of the composers about the project.

"I was very lucky to get insight from most of the composers on their work," she said. "They were thrilled that I was doing this project. You can imagine how it must feel to be writing music that never gets performed." By recording these works and marketing the music, Sawyer hopes to inspire others to seek out these composers' work as well as others.

"My mission is have people understand that we have such a big world and there's a variety of people and there's a variety of music," she said, "People should be able to appreciate good music without having to identify it by nationality or color or gender and not until people hear it will they even know that it is here."

--Lynn Bolt Rosendale

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