10/11/2026
Dr. Copley will be joining us at NMSU for the November 12th Wind Symphony concert where his musical work, "Dope," will be performed.
The 2026 Young Composer Initiative Mentor Composer will be Dr. Katahj Copley.
Dr. Copley holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and composition from the University of West Georgia, and a master's in music composition from the University of Texas at Austin. He received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Michigan State University in 2026.
Dr. Copley’s first work, Spectra, was premiered in 2017 by the University of West Georgia’s Saxophone Ensemble. Since then, the composer has written over sixty pieces, including over twenty-five for wind band, which have been performed by many local high schools. At the University of West Georgia, Dr. Copley wrote pieces for UWG’s brass ensemble, concert choir, saxophone ensemble, symphonic band, jazz ensemble and wind ensemble. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by colleges, organizations, universities and professional ensembles, including the 1st Infantry Brass Choir, Rhode Island Recording Ensemble, Axos Saxophone Quartet, the Admiral Launch Duo and the Nu Alpha chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at Georgia State University. In February of 2020, Dr. Copley’s Sunshine was featured at the Georgia Music Educators Association’s District XIII’s performance, and Nova was premiered by the University of West Georgia’s Wind Ensemble at the College Band Directors National Association Southeast Division Conference.
Aside from composing, Dr. Copley is an educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language.
Music for Copley has always been impactful in his life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet and it can evoke emotions that are beyond him and this world we live in. He believes that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination, and the most freedom he has had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like opening one's heart and showing the world one's spirit, drive, and passion.
Dr. Copley is one of eight founding members of the Nu Black Vanguard, a composers collective dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Black composers in the medium of music; the other seven founding members are Kevin Day, Marie A. Douglas, Benjamin Horne, Kelijah Dunton, JaRod Hall, Dayla D. Spencer, and Adrian B. Sims.
