Former flutist of the Imani Winds, Coleman is a cofounder of the performer-composer trio Umama Womama. She now teaches at the Mannes School of Music.

Seven O’Clock Shout was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, which gave the virtual premiere on July 6, 2020, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Coleman calls the work “an anthem inspired by the tireless frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the heartwarming ritual of evening serenades that brings people together amidst isolation to celebrate life and the sacrifices of heroes. The work begins with a distant and solitary solo between two trumpets in fanfare fashion to commemorate the isolation forced upon humankind, and the need to reach out to one another. The fanfare blossoms into a lushly dense landscape of nature, symbolizing both the caregiving acts of nurses and doctors as they try to save lives, while nature is transforming and healing herself during a time of self-isolation.” 

Coleman points to the repeated pattern in the basses, “gradually building up to that moment at 7pm, when cheers, claps, clangings of pots and pans, and shouts ring through the air of cities around the world!…The work ends in a proud anthem moment where we all come together with grateful hearts to acknowledge that we have survived yet another day.”

~ Program notes by Charley Samson, copyright 2023