Launch of Arise and Shine: Piano Music by Black Composers for Kids

Ben Johnson, one of our EdD students, presented his presentation titled, ““First But Not Last” Scholarly Leveled Recordings of Piano Music By Black Composers for the 21st Century Pedagogue” at the 2025 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) which highlighted the release of 100 leveled scholarly recordings of piano music by Black composers recorded by ten Black pianists who have dedicated their careers to the scholarship of this music. This session featured the music, the pianists, and the journey to get these leveled pedagogical recordings in the hands of every piano student around the world. The first release of this project debuts with the album “Arise & Shine: Piano Music by Black Composers for Kids” on August 8, 2025. This album’s length is 54 minutes, comprised of 33 tracks and will be available on all digital platforms for purchase and streaming. Ben Raznick is the President-Elect of Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) and an EdD student of CU-Denver researching equity in music education. He is working as a coproducer with colleague Dr. Leah Claiborne, Associate Professor of Music at University of the District of Columbia, to bring this landmark project to fruition.