"Castle of our Skins brings 'an endlessly curious and almost archaeological mind to [their] programming’" —The New York Times

Co-founded in 2013 by two musicians who met at the New England Conservatory, Castle of our Skins centers Black arts, culture, and history in each curated event, musical selection, and artistic collaborator. As part of their 2026-27 artist residency with the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, this acclaimed Black arts institution will present Sacred Transcendence, an afternoon of African American spirituals, from classics to those reimagined. Blending voice, strings, and piano, the program will weave foundational spirituals published by H.T. Burleigh, James Weldon Johnson, and R. Nathaniel Dett with reimagined contemporary works by composers suchas Shawn Okphebelo, Adolphus Hailstork, and Jessie Montgomery.

Within the Greater Boston classical music and arts scene, Castle of our Skins is unrivaled in their dedication to program works by African diasporic composers in collaboration with other artistic disciplines. They are committed to education, especially early intervention through music and the arts.