Juba

Trevor Weston

2017

String quartet (violin (2), viola, cello)

Juba for String Quartet honors the lives and contributions of African and African American forced laborers who cultivated various crops during slavery. The work makes a musical journey from Africa to the United States through traditional African music and traditional folk music by African Americans: fiddle music, Long-meter hymns and Gullah music. The physical contributions by the aforementioned laborers are often forgotten. Similarly, the musical contributions of African Americans are often unmarked and forgotten although the world enjoys these contributions daily. Juba for String Quartet employs traditional performance practices from the African American Musical tradition. Some of these musical gestures might sound familiar although they are not always associated with the Black community. This work highlights the musical contributions by African Americans and celebrates the lives of those who helped create our American economy, industry, and culture.