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About Diana

Baltimore City  
Her work as a composer has garnered her such prestigious awards as the Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Maryland State Arts Council, Meet the Composer Grant and New Music America. She is also a founding member of the internationally renowned vocal ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock. She composed the music for the Broadway hit: “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf” and the PBS children’s production, “Getting To Know Me”. Her… more
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CARRY ON! A New American Musical

Eugene O'Neil Theater Center 2023 National Music Theater Conference Semifinalist

Written and conceived by Diana Wharton-Sennaar with a book by her daughter writer Mai Sennaar, this musical is inspired by her community work with elderly populations in nursing homes, mental health facilities, and hospitals throughout New York.

Weeks into the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lucky ones, a group of asymptomatic and COVID-negative residents in an assisted living facility in New York City are quarantined in a multi-purpose room. If they had to choose the people they would be spending this strange time with, it would not be one another. But over the course of several weeks, as they struggle with loss, fear, and isolation, they confront personal roadblocks, heal wounds, and discover the new meaning of community. This musical features a diverse cast of characters, who reflect a myriad of experiences in our times.

  • Sheet music from CARRY ON!
    Sheet music from CARRY ON!
    CARRY ON! sheet music.
  • CARRY ON Musical Track Excerpts.mp3
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    • The Arsonist (Live Theater)

    2019 Premiere at the Smithsonian Affiliate Museum of the African Diaspora, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

    The Arsonist features music by Diana Wharton-Sennaar. Written and directed by Mai Sennaar.

    The Arsonist premiered at the Smithsonian Affiliate Museum of the African Diaspora, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. The fictional story of a visual artist and her estranged son Andrew are integrated with the principles of fire science, movement, visual projections and live music to explore the personal implications of our social and political theories surrounding justice in America today. We hear the voices and stories of the women that Veronica interviews and "paints":  A Congolese-American woman whose family was directly impacted by Leopold II's occupation, a Mexican woman activist who advocated for the rights of Latino farmworkers during the 1960s and two Senegalese teenage girls who've recently immigrated to the US.
    • Still image of The Arsonist at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
      Still image of The Arsonist at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
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    Wax Lovers' Playlist

    2018 Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival Official Selection


    Written and directed by Mai Sennaar, with music by Diana Wharton-Sennaar

    Wax Lovers' Playlist examines how underrepresented​, ​emerging artists are ​building a ​​life in the contemporary cultural and political climate of​ our times​.​ ​In the legacy of James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Josephine Baker and ​many others, the film is ​also ​a contemporary exploration of the experiences​ ​of American expatriate artists ​of color ​in the 21st century.

    • Wax Lovers' Playlist Film
      A BTS video on 2018 Martha's Vineyard Official Selection short film Wax Lovers' Playlist.
    • Wax Lovers Playlist film.
      Wax Lovers Playlist film.
      Naomie Antoinette in a scene from Wax Lovers' Playlist (2018)
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    • Community Building through the Arts: Piano for Youth

    I am the co-founder and director of Piano for Youth (PFY), an award-wining Maryland-based organization. As the leading organization of its kind in the US, Piano for Youth aims to close the academic achievement gap by fostering academic excellence, confidence and leadership skills through music education, piano instruction and public performance. Acknowledged in 2013 by Howard County, Maryland with Piano for Youth Day and as a recipient of a 2014 Bright Minds Grant, PFY continues to be the annual recipient of honors and proclamations from Maryland's Governors, Baltimore's Mayors and the Baltimore City Council from 2013-2017. Our programming features year-round piano lessons, a summer camp which was last held at School 33 Art Center an elite core of touring young performers. Performance venues include: Walters Art Museum, Johns Hopkins University, the Baltimore War Memorial Museum, the Douglass Myers Maritime Museum, Howard University, the New Jersey Public Library in Jersey City and For My Sweet Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY.
    • Piano for Youth students performing Etude.
    • Piano for Youth After-School program at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City.
      Piano for Youth After-School program at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City.
    • Piano for Youth After-School program at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School
      Piano for Youth After-School program at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School
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    • For Colored Girls...Original Broadway Production

    I had the pleasure of composing the score for Broadway's second production by a black woman following Lorraine Hansberry's ​A Raisin in the Sun. Written by Ntozake Shange "For Colored Girls" premiered at the Booth Theater in 1976. My song, I Found God In Myself ​aligns with the play's resolution. With a line of dialogue as the lyrics, the song speaks of the journey to peace, self-love and self-acceptance for its protagonists. The play won the Tony award for Best Actress, an Obie award and a Drama Desk Award. It was also nominated for the Tony for Best Play. The play explores various experiences and challenges in black womanhood and the collective journey to healing. 


    • For Colored Girls Playbill
      For Colored Girls Playbill
      The Playbill from 'For Colored Girls'.
    • For Colored Girls Inner Page
      For Colored Girls Inner Page
    • a laying on of hands / i found god in myself
      Recording from Broadway production for Colored Girls for which I served as composer. This clip features the song 'I Found God in Myself'. The music begins at 2:05.
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    • Sweet Honey in the Rock

    ​I've served as a composer, member and pianist for the world renowned vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.  As an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey is a three-time Grammy Award–nominated troupe who express their history as African-American women through song, dance, and sign language.
    • 1200px-Sweet_Honey_in_the_Rock.jpg
      1200px-Sweet_Honey_in_the_Rock.jpg
      Sweet Honey in the Rock
    • Sweet Honey In The Rock - Doin' Things Together
      Doin Things Together is a song that I composed. I am also playing piano on the track. The recording appears on Sweet Honey's eponymous album.
    • Sweet Honey in the Rock other pic.jpg
      Sweet Honey in the Rock other pic.jpg
      Sweet Honey’s first concert with the 1973 personnel, and Dianaruthe Wharton on piano. The ensemble appears as part of the African Diaspora Program at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife on the National Mall.
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    • Select Album (Soundtrack) The Fall of the Kings

    The Fall of the Kings, a Play with Original Music by Diana Wharton-Sennaar, Written and Directed by Mai Sennaar

    Designed in consonance with the play's World War II backdrop and ballet themes, the music is full of uptempo jazz and ballads featuring strings. The soundtrack also features Grammy-nominated trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. The Fall of the Kings play featured an award-winning cast & crew: Choreographer, Dyane Harvey-Salaam’s credits include The Wiz (original stage and film versions) and the classic Spike Lee film School Daze. Set designer, Christopher Cumberbatch’s, work has appeared both in theater and in the Spike Lee films Crooklyn and Malcolm X. The play was written and directed by NYU alum playwright Mai Sennaar.
    • The Fall of the Kings Trailer
    • The Fall of the Kings Original Soundtrack CD
      The Fall of the Kings Original Soundtrack CD
      Diana Wharton-Sennaar composed all original music for the new hit New York theater production, The Fall of the Kings. Wharton-Sennaar can also be heard on all vocals and piano. The soundtrack also features Grammy-nominated trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Blair Skinner on the violin who is the conductor for the Johns Hopkins University Concert Orchestra. Percussionist and music educator Jose Ortiz is also featured. The Fall of the Kings’ award-winning cast & crew includes: Choreographer, Dyane Harvey-Salaam (The Wiz, original stage and film versions and the classic Spike Lee film School Daze). Set designer, Christopher Cumberbatch’s, work has appeared both in theater and in the Spike Lee films Crooklyn and Malcolm X. Composer Diana Wharton-Sennaar was a founding member of Sweet Honey in The Rock and composer for Ntozake Shange’s Broadway hit For Colored Girls. The play was written and directed by NYU alum playwright Mai Sennaar. The CD was Recorded and Mixed by Wendel Patrick at Stinking Toe Tree Studio, Baltimore, MD 21201. Patrick is also featured on acoustic bass and contributed some musical arrangements.
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