Joy Guidry (born October 12, 1995) is an American bassoonist and composer.[1]

Joy Guidry
Background information
Born (1995-10-12) October 12, 1995 (age 29)
Houston
Genres
OccupationComposer
InstrumentBassoon
LabelsWhited Sepulchre Records
Websiteguidrybassoon.com

Early life

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Guidry was born in Houston and first became interested in music through her exposure to gospel music at church.[2]

Career

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Guidry graduated from the Peabody Institute in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in bassoon performance, after which she participated in a fellowship at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.[3][4] She earned a diploma from Mannes School of Music the following year.[5]

In 2021, Guidry was awarded the Berlin Prize for Young Artists for her Radical Self-Love program.[6] Her debut album, Radical Acceptance, was released in February 2022.[7] That year, she served on a panel of curators to select projects from new artists to be recorded on the American Composers Forum innova Recordings label.[8]

Guidry is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in music at University of California, San Diego.[9] After touring with her dissertation project, AMEN, a recording of the work will be released in May 2024.[10]

Compositions

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Y'all don't wanna listen

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In 2020, the National Sawdust Ensemble commissioned and premiered Y'all don't wanna listen, a work by Guidry for cello, alto flute, and violin.[11]

A Prayer for Protection

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A Prayer for Protection, a work for seven double basses, was commissioned by the New World Symphony for 2021–2022 BLUE project bass fellows.[12]

This just don't make no sense

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Guidry's "mini-opera" for soprano, double bass, and oboe, This just don't make sense was commissioned by the Long Beach Opera for a virtual performance by the ensemble in November 2020.[13]

They know what they've done to us

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Titled after a 1968 quote from activist Fannie Lou Hamer, They Know What They've Done To Us was commissioned by the I&I Foundation and premiered at the 2022 Lucerne Festival, where it was performed by trumpet player Aaron Akugbo and pianist Zeynep Özsuca.[14][15][4]

Personal life

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Guidry is Christian and identifies as queer.[10][4] Her 2022 work Radical Acceptance explores her journey with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.[16]

Discography

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Albums

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List of albums, with selected details
Title Details
Radical Acceptance
  • Released: February 4, 2022
  • Format: Digital download, vinyl
AMEN
  • Release: May 10, 2024
  • Format: Digital download, vinyl
  • Label: Whited Sepulchre Records

Singles

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List of singles with selected details
Title Year Album
"Almost There" 2023 Non-album single
"Day By Day" 2023 AMEN

References

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  1. ^ n.a. "Home". Joy Guidry. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  2. ^ n.a. "AMEN by Joy Guidry". Bandcamp. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  3. ^ n.a. "Joy Guidry Wins 2021 Berlin Prize for Young Artists". The Peabody Post. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Guidry, Joy. "Discussing Diversity with Joy Guidry". Lucerne Festival. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  5. ^ Alzuphar, Adolph. "A Momentous Bassoon". National Sawdust. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  6. ^ n.a. "Violist Flora Marlene Geißelbrecht and bassoonist Joy Guidry win the 2021 Berlin Prize for Young Artists". Van Magazine. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  7. ^ Hussey, Allison. "26 Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2022". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  8. ^ n.a. "Nine Projects Selected for innova Recordings' Second National Call". American Composers Forum. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  9. ^ n.a. "Joy Guidry, bassoon – DMA Recital". UC San Diego Music. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b Thomas, Sarah. "Finding Amen: Joy Guidry Speaks". Jazz Speaks. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  11. ^ n.a. "NEW WORKS COMMISSION CONCERT: NATIONAL SAWDUST ENSEMBLE". I Care if You Listen.tv. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  12. ^ n.a. "NWS Blue Project Annual Report 2021-22" (PDF). New World Symphony. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  13. ^ Nockin, Maria. "Review: LONG BEACH OPERA'S SONGBOOK at Home Computer Screens". BroadwayWorld Los Angeles. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  14. ^ n.a. "Diary". Aaron Akugbo. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  15. ^ n.a. "Aaron Akugbo". Royal Academy of Music. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  16. ^ Adolphe, Julian. "Joy Guidry: Transforming Trauma through the Creative Process". New Music USA. Retrieved 20 February 2024.