“The Prayers of Black Folk” is a solo marimba and gyil concert that translates the hopes and dreams of Africans in America through sound. Weaving together traditional and art music of the Dagara and Lobi people (Northern Ghana) and Afro-Americans in the United States and Europe, this program honors "the dreamers who always wanted more than they had — and who did more than just hold on to life, but expanded its possibilities and preserved its beauty." (Robertson, x)

The performance will include works by Errollyn Wallen, Florence B. Price, L. Viola Kinney, Steph Davis, Kakraba Lobi, J. Rosamond Johnson, Nkeiru Okoye, and Isak Roux, in addition to traditional Lobi gyil songs and an arrangement of an African American spiritual.

This performance is supported by the City of Boston Arts and Culture 2025 Opportunity Fund.

3:30 pm - Doors Open
4:00 pm - Concert
5:15-6:00 pm - Q&A and Reception

About Steph Davis:
Steph Davis is a marimbist, gyil player, Africana studies scholar, and cultural activist. Their work explores Black historiographies and uses music to inspire truth-telling and collective liberation.

Hailed by The Washington Post as a "crisp, controlled" performer who brings "bright humanity and expressive depth" to contemporary music, Davis has performed hundreds of concerts as a marimba soloist and chamber musician. Encompasing original arrangements of spirituals, traditional West African gyil music, and Western classical and contemporary music, Davis’ performances push the boundaries of genre while centering African-descended people and cultures. Through their arrangements, commissions, and compositions, they have contributed over 30 works by Black composers to the marimba's solo and chamber repertoire. Recent highlights include solo concerts presented by Celebrity Series of Boston and Ashmont Hill Chamber Music and interdisciplinary collaborations with dancers, poets, and playwrites. Their current projects include recording their debut solo marimba album and publishing an anthology of marimba adaptations, arrangements, and transcriptions of music from the African diaspora. Davis proudly endorses Marimba One instruments and mallets as a Marimba One Premier Artist.

Davis is a teaching artist with Castle of our Skins and an instructor of music theory at the Boston Conservatory. They have led educational residencies at the Boston Children’s Chorus and Boston Children’s Museum and have presented performances and masterclasses on marimba and vibraphone at the University of Central Florida, University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Center of Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown University, and the Network for Diversity in Concert Percussion.

Davis has enjoyed residencies at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Boston Center for the Arts, and the Goethe-Institut Boston, and fellowships with Antenna Cloud Farm and Music for Food. Their work has been supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, City of Boston Arts and Culture, and Cambridge Arts Council.

Davis received their Master of Music in marimba performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where they studied with Nancy Zeltsman. They also hold a Bachelor of Music in percussion performance from the Conservatory. Davis currently studies gyil with gyil master SK Kakraba. They serve on the boards of directors of Castle of our Skins.

Davis resides on unceded land of the Neponset band of the Massachusett tribe, bordertown Dorchester, Boston, MA.

Steph Davis: The Prayers of Black Folk

Steph Davis, marimba & gyil