Black Being

Flutronix, the forward-thinking musical duo comprised of flutists Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull, presents Black Being, a four-movement song cycle for flutes, electronics, and chamber orchestra that explores and reclaims the black female experience.

Black Being features Grammy-nominated performer and composer Nathalie Joachim, who has been praised as “a fresh and invigorating cross-cultural voice” (The Nation), and performer, composer, and producer, Allison Loggins-Hull, called a “powerhouse” by The Washington Post, with the Chicago Sinfonietta under the direction of conductor Mei-Ann Chen.

Praised at its premiere as “the most stunning live performance” and named among the Top 10 Classical Music Events of 2021 by the Chicago Tribune, the work incorporates evocative poetry by North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, revealing facets of the collaborators’ lives rarely shared within a classical-concert frame.

The opening movement, “Angels,” reflects on the terror and confusion of the American slave trade, its atmosphere shaped by looping flute textures and Joachim’s vocoder recitations. The second movement, “Water Babies,” casts harrowing light on those thrown overboard from slave ships.

A nostalgic shift arrives with “Moon Pies and Stardust,” a meditation on the comfort and memory of shared space with loved ones. The cycle concludes with “Black Lights,” an iterative finale that rises from the weight of the journey to affirm the breadth and radiance of Black womanhood across eras.

Originally introduced in a small-scale version at the Arts Club of Chicago in 2021, Black Being received its chamber orchestra premiere with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (a co-commissioner with the Chicago Sinfonietta) in April 2022.

Black Being was produced by Elaine Martone (Sonarc Music) and engineered by Dan Nichols. The album was recorded on January 21—23, 2025, in the Mary Patricia Gannon Concert Hall at DePaul University.

Black Being is made possible by generous support from an Anonymous donor, The Robert & Isabelle Bass Foundation, Inc., and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University.