Finally finished writing my new piece grey cloud for Nouveaux Horizons Festival in Aix-en-Provence this November - for string quartet and piano. ⛅️✨ I wrote this piece to reflect my mental health journey. Navigating the world with depression and anxiety, is often a very misunderstood and debilitating experience and I needed to write about it. To add, I find that mental health problems in Black women are often overlooked. Withdrawing and isolating oneself, in my experience, has often been interpreted as a character flaw rather than an indication that I’m not okay. The stereotype that Black women are unbreakable and consistently “strong” is damaging and exhausting. If I hear one more yt or non-Black man call me a “strong Black woman” I’m going to be sick 🙄 Things are getting better though; widespread mental health education and the idea of attending therapy as necessary rather than “failing.” There’s nothing wrong with asking for help in understanding yourself. ———— This November, I’ll be spending five days at the festival to experience new works by nine other composers and performances from an incredible line-up of musicians. grey cloud will also be broadcast on @francemusique at another point after the festival. Thank you to @rcapucon for inviting me to be a part of this showcase 🙏🏿 . . . . . . . . . . . #composer #composition #london #paris #uk #france #newwork #newmusic #greycloud #mentalhealth #blackmindsmatter #aixenprovence #france #stringquartet #piano#commission #francemusique #renaudcapuçon #festivalnoveauxhorizons #blackandwhite