Margaret Bonds

American composer and pianist Margaret Bonds was one of the first black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States. She is best remembered today for her frequent collaborations with Langston Hughes. Her most prominent works include The Negro Speaks of Rivers; voice and piano (published 1942); The Ballad of the Brown King; chorus, soloists, and orchestra (1954); Three Dream Portraits; voice and piano (1959); Mass in D-Minor, chorus and organ (1959); Shakespeare in Harlem, music-theater work (1959); Montgomery Variations; orchestra (1965); and Credo; chorus and orchestra (1972). Some of Bonds' music, mainly piano pieces and art songs, has been recorded on various labels.