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Get to know Hannah Mufuka

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Hannah Mufuka The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2026 Composer scholarship winner Hannah Mufuka is a composer and sound artist from Decatur, Georgia. She is a recipient of a 2025-2026 Kenan Fellowship at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where she developed and premiered an original composition, Mbira, My Love . In 2024-2025, she was a See/a/change fellow, where she collaborated on two environmental arts pieces, both of which premiered at the Winston-Salem Arts Council in 2025. Hannah Mufuka has worked with various ensembles, such as the Golden Hornet Quartet, Decoda, the European Recording Orchestra, and Ensemble Intercolor, and her compositions have been presented in the United States and Europe. Additionally, as an Emerging Composers Program Fellow at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, she premiered a new composition, Osprey , at the Juilliard School.  Currently, Hannah continues to lean into her passion for environmental advocacy through the NC Climate Justice Colle...
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The Gena Branscombe Project 2026 Scholarship Winners

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  The Gena Branscombe Project is proud to announce our 2026 Scholarship winners. Congratulations to Harley Winzenried, Arts Administrator, Hannah Mufuka, Composition and Valentina Paolucci, Conductor. These outstanding people are carrying on Gena Branscombe's legacy of dedicated work in the arts. Also, a special thank you to a patron who generously donated this year's scholarship money.
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  ·          Women Composers on Women Composing "I have never been able to understand women composers who do not wish to be called women composers. I understand their argument but it seems so superficial to me. Our strength lies in our identification with women and music."   Beth Anderson, Composer #BringingBackBranscombe Photo credit:    Molly Sheridan, NewMusicBox. B B
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Gena Branscombe Quote

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I will be featuring quotes from women composers about their journey, their perceptions of being a woman composer and how the world perceives their works.  Enjoy!   I start with Miss Branscombe, of course.     “Composers are people born with some sort of sensitive inner mechanism that picks up sounds – vibrations – which other people do not hear.   Composers feel that there is a Realm of Music, a place where it exists in its perfection, and that they can tune in to it, as it were. Composers feel that they’re just channels, humanly speaking, through which the music flows.   And the truly great composers are those born with a mechanism so good that they hear more clearly than lesser composers.” And the truly great composers are those born with a mechanism so good that they hear more clearly than lesser composers.” Gena Branscombe speech presented at Beta Sigma Phi circa 1957 #BringingBackBranscombe
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One Eye Publications - Violin/Piano Volume 2 and When Joan of Arc was a Little Girl

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One Eye Publications has released Gena Branscombe's " Violin and Pianoforte Volume 2 " and the Suite for Piano, " When Joan of Arc was a Little Girl. " These wonderful pieces of music are available for sale NOW! http://www.oneeyepublications.com/. #BringingBackBranscombe #OneEyePublications #ViolinPianofortepieces #WhenJoanofArcwasaLittleGirl #PianoSuite #WomanComposer #GenaBranscombe
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Jade Espina-Killian, Mezzo Soprano

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 Over the past 27 years wonderful musicians have contacted me asking about the music of Gena Branscombe.  Most often these musicians are singers wanting suggestions for programming Gena’s songs for their recitals. It’s an absolute joy to share this repertoire with them and offer to coach the singers on the interpretive style.  Nearly two years ago I was told that mezzo-soprano Jade Espina had performed Gena’s “Lute of Jade” song cycle.  Listening to her sing these songs with great attention to phrasing and understanding of the text while gorgeously sung was a thrill.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXGxfcogRh0 Several weeks later Jade and I spoke by phone.  What a great conversation we had.  Jade assured me she loved performing the song cycle and in the future would definitely be programming more of Gena’s songs.  She was helping The Gena Branscombe Project lay the path to having Gena’s 150 songs considered for recitals! ...
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Dame Ethel Smyth

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  “I feel I must fight for (my music), because I want women to turn their minds to big and difficult jobs; not to just go on hugging the shore, and afraid to put out to sea. ”   Dame Ethel Smyth –  1902 letter to her collaborator Henry Brewster Yes, Gena Branscombe and Ethel Smyth met.   During the Summer of 1935, while Gena was visiting her daughter in England, a visit was arranged between the two composers. There must have been a shared tea with a discussion of women composers of their era! #BringingBackBranscombe
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