Jessie Montgomery (b 1981) is one of today's most relevant and important interpreters of 21st-century American sound and experience. She has been involved with Community MusicWorks, a Providence, Rhode Island community outreach music education program, as well as the Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based nonprofit that supports young African American and Latinx string players. Her music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, poetry, and social consciousness, and has been performed by such ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, A Far Cry, San Francisco Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony.
Montgomery's Voodoo Dolls was written in 2008 as part of a commission for the JUMP! Dance Company of Rhode Island, depicting different types of children's dolls. This music for the Voodoo Dolls section ''is influenced by West African drumming patterns and lyrical chant motives, all of which feature highlights of improvisation within the ensemble.'' The energetic and exciting piece can be performed by a string quartet or with an optional double bass as a string quintet. For advanced players. Score and parts included.
