Repertoire for Unaccompanied Solo Cello
(51 pieces by 39 composers as of February 15, 2023)
Compiled for the RBP Foundation by Cello Repertoire Specialist Corbin Keep and Dr. Megan E. Hill for the RBP Foundation.
These are pieces intended for solo performer. The vast majority are truly unaccompanied, but several include additional special effects (electronics, narration, singing, or other auxiliary actions) to be done by the solo cellist. Auxiliary actions are noted when relevant.
Please let us know of any other works that should be added to this list, or if you know of any additional information or resources to complete this catalog! Email us at editor@musicbyblackcomposers.org.
Leila Adu
New Zealand, Britain, Ghana
For Edna (2016)
for cello with singing
DEDICATEE: Edna Bonhomme
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: available on Soundcloud
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Eleanor Alberga (b. 1949)
Jamaica, Britain
Ride Through (2015)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: from Songs & Lullabies: New Works for Solo Cello (Robert Irvine) on Spotify
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
David N. Baker (1931–2016)
USA
Sonata for Solo Cello (1990)
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Renée Baker (b. 1969)
USA
9 Landings Sonata
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
A Different Along
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Jonathan Bingham
USA
Monograph for Violoncello (2020)
ENGRAVING STYLE: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer’s website
RECORDING: request from composer
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Noel Da Costa (1929–2002)
Nigeria, Jamaica, USA
Two Pieces for Unaccompanied Cello (1973)
DEDICATEE: Ronald Lipscomb
ENGRAVING STYLE: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: available from libraries
RECORDING: live performance on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Tyson Davis (b. 2000)
USA
Tableau No. VIII (2020)
DEDICATEE: Roric Cunningham
ENGRAVING STYLE: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: available on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s Facebook profile.
Samantha Fernando (b. 1984)
Britain
Fault-Line (2015)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: available on Spotify
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Primous Fountain (b. 1949)
USA
Cello Suite (2018)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Tango Para Cello
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Gifrants (Marcien Guy-Frantz Toussaint) (b. 1957)
Haiti, USA
The Imaginary Cellist (2015)
MOVEMENTS: 1. Patris Gloria, 2. Moonlight, 3. Debonnaire’s Flair, 4. Solace, 5. Silhouette, 6. Broken Steps Along My Way, 7. Soulful Trance
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer’s website
RECORDING: Gifrants: The Imaginary Cellist (Tom Clowes) available on Amazon
Faith and Soul (2015)
MOVEMENTS: 12 movements
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer’s website
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork (b. 1941)
USA
Theme and Variations on “Draw the Sacred Circle Closer” for solo cello (2009)
ENGRAVING STYLE: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from SheetMusicPlus
RECORDING: performance by Timothy Holley on Youtube; a later recording from Summerland – Music for Cello and Piano by Composers of African Descent (Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun and Phoenix Park-Kim) available on Spotify
Sonata for Solo Cello (2012)
DEDICATEE: Timothy Holley
MOVEMENTS: 1. Allegro moderato, 2. Poco adagio, 3. Allegro
ENGRAVING STYLE: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from SheetMusicPlus
RECORDING: performance by Timothy Holley on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Karlton Hester (b. 1949)
USA
Zeta Cancri (1985)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Geoffrey Dana Hicks (b. 1954)
USA
Piece for Cello (1973)
DEDICATEE: Malcolm Peyton
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Chad “Sir Wick” Hughes (b. 1977)
USA
First Suite for Violoncello (2017)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer’s website
RECORDING: performance by Anthony Elliott on YouTube
Second Suite for Violoncello (2020)
SHEET MUSIC: not yet available
RECORDING: expected premier in 2024
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Gregory Jackson (b. 1976)
USA
Deference for Bach, Op. 72
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
The Garden, Op. 96
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Grace of Jesu, Op. 120
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Joseph Jones
USA
Tragic Suite for Solo Cello
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Comic Suite for Solo Cello
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Lyric Suite, Op. 26 (for cello or viola)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from SheetMusicPlus
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Daniel Kidane (b. 1986)
Britain
Metamorphosis for solo cello (2009)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: available on SoundCloud
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Eric Brian Lacy
USA
Three Question Marks (2011)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available on the composer’s website
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
James Lee, III (b. 1975)
USA
Abraham’s Sons (In Memoriam: Trayvon Martin) (2013)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from Subito Music
RECORDING: performance by Timothy Holley available on YouTube; performance by Hilary Glen available on Spotify, from the album Memories Unsettled (2022)
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Tania Justina Léon (b. 1943)
Cuba, USA
Four Pieces for Solo Cello (1981)
DEDICATEE: movement two is dedicated “To my father” (written shortly after his passing)
MOVEMENTS: 1. Allegro, 2. Lento doloroso, sempre cantabile, 3. Montuno, 4. Vivo
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from SheetMusicPlus and Hal Leonard
RECORDING: live performance on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
George Lewis (b. 1952)
USA
Spinner (2016-17)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: from Cartography (Muriel Roberts) available to stream from New Focus Recordings
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Allison Loggins-Hull
USA
Stolen for solo cello (2016)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available on the composer’s website
RECORDING: live performance on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Charles Lwanga
Uganda, USA
Silence and Suspense for Solo Cello (2011)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for composer’s faculty profile.
Quinn Mason (b. 1996)
USA
Suite for Solo Cello (2016)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available on the composer’s website
RECORDING: available on the composer’s website
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940–2022)
USA
Baroque Suite (1965)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from American Composers Alliance
RECORDING: live performance on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Jeffrey Mumford (b. 1955)
USA
variazioni elegiaci (1979-80; revised 1997)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
amid fleeting pockets of billowing radiance (1990)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
a focus further within (2010)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
to find in the glimmering air . . . a buoyant continuity of layering blue (2011)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for composer’s website and bio.
Gary Powell Nash (b. 1964)
USA
Blues Impromptu (1995)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer’s website
RECORDING: available on the composer’s website
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Ayọ̀ Olúrántí (1972)
Nigeria, Britain, USA
Fantasia (2006)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932–2004)
USA
Lamentations: A Black/Folk Song Suite for solo cello (1973)
DEDICATEE: Ronald Lipscomb
MOVEMENTS: 1. Fuguing Tune, 2. Song Form, 3. Calvary Ostinato, 4. Perpetual Motion
SHEET MUSIC: available from SheetMusicPlus
RECORDING: available on Spotify
Click here for the composer’s bio.
John Elwood Price (1935–1995)
USA
Impulse and Deviation I (1958)
ENGRAVING STYLE: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: available from libraries
RECORDING: research in progress
A Ptah Hymn (1978)
ENGRAVING STYLE: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: available from libraries
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
David William Sanford (1963)
USA
Seventh Avenue Kaddish (2002)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from composer’s website
RECORDING: available from composer’s website
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Carlos Simon (b. 1986)
USA
Between Worlds (2019)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from composer’s website
RECORDING: live performance of violin version available on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Alvin Singleton (b. 1940)
USA
Argoru II (1970)
DEDICATEE: Ronald Crutcher
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from EAMDC
RECORDING: live performance available on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Joyce Solomon Moorman (b. 1946)
USA
Elegy
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Lavender Rodriguez (b. 2000)
Britain
Sonorous Solitude (2016)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: available on SoundCloud
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Derrick Spiva, Jr. (1982)
USA
Hum for Solo Violoncello
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer’s website
RECORDING: live performance on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Shirley Thompson
Britain
Blue Iris for Solo Cello
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Blue for You (solo cello and dancer(s))
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Daijana Wallace
USA
Shades (2019)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer
RECORDING: available on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Trevor Weston (b. 1967)
USA
Shapeshifter: The Angry Bluesman (2011)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from the composer
RECORDING: performance by Timothy Holley on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Kimo Williams (b. 1950)
USA
Quiet Shadows
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available from Omik.com
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
