Noel DaCosta

Noel G. Da Costa (24 December 1929 – 29 April 2002) was a Nigerian-Jamaican composer, jazz violinist, and choral conductor. Early life and educational career Noel Da Costa was born on 24 December 1929 Lagos, Nigeria to parents from Kingston, Jamaica, who were Salvation Army missionaries. After returning to Jamaica while Da Costa was young, they emigrated to New York City, living in Harlem. While in High School, he was inspired by one of his teachers to work in an artistic field. Da Costa completed his Bachelor’s at Queens College in 1952 and his Master’s in theory and composition at Columbia University in 1956, studying with Otto Luening and Jack Beeson. He studied with Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence, Italy, under a Fulbright Fellowship, and shortly thereafter in 1961 took positions teaching at Hampton University and the City University of New York. In 1970 he accepted a position at Rutgers University, where he taught until 2001. He died the following year at the age of 72. Musical career Da Costa was also a co-founder of the Society of Black Composers. His first music set to poetry being Tambourines by Langston Hughes. He also worked with choral groups, becoming the director of th