Four Women is a piece composed for four women in honor of four women. The title and structure coming from Nina Simone’s famous composition, each movement of this work is a portrait of a woman who has made significant contributions to the world. Queen Nzinga (1583-1633) of the Mbundu people of present day Angola, central Afrika, successfully led her

Four Women is a piece composed for four women in honor of four women. The title and structure coming from Nina Simone’s famous composition, each movement of this work is a portrait of a woman who has made significant contributions to the world. Queen Nzinga (1583-1633) of the Mbundu people of present day Angola, central Afrika, successfully led her people in a 30 year war against Portuguese colonization showcasing both her military prowess and high-stakes diplomacy. Ida B. Wells Barnett 1862-1931) was a woman who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to become a force for justice leading the anti-lynching movement and the fight for women’s rights. Angela Davis (1944- ) came to prominence during the civil rights movement as a symbol of Black Power. She stood up to then governor Ronald Reagan, and has tirelessly fought for Human rights around the world, as a scholar, activist, author and lecture. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977- ) is a Nigerian born best-selling author and lecturer and self-proclaimed feminist who argues that we spend too much time teaching girls and boys gender-specific behaviors and attitudes as opposed to focusing and encouraging their actual humanity and innate abilities that would allow them to add value to the communities they belong to regardless of gender identity.