MUSE • Musicians United for Social Equity

Biography

Natalie Brown is a composer, playwright, and performer. Grounded in historical inquiry, her work seeks to write between the lines of traditional archives to explore questions of memory, narrative, and identity. Through music, theatre, and research, she seeks to amplify voices historically excluded from dominant narratives and use the arts as a means for community-driven social change.

As a theater maker, Natalie’s work spans musicals, operas, and plays. FOR COLORED GIRLS, her musical adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s 1976 play, premiered as part of Lincoln Center’s 2026 American Songbook series, co-presented by Artist-in-Residence Clint Ramos and Visionary Artist Jeanine Tesori. Her original musical LITTLE WHITE LIES, about the histories of racial passing in America, premiered as part of the 2024-25 TDAPS Curricular Season at Yale University. Her work has garnered recognition by organizations including the Eugene O’Neill Center and the Write Out Loud Contest.

As a musician, Natalie writes across the worlds of contemporary and classical music. In 2024, she was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Tania León to compose “insomni/black,” a new chamber music piece premiered by the Ensemble Connect. As an independent singer-songwriter, Natalie writes and performs her own music, available to stream on all platforms. She also regularly scores for theatrical productions and digital media. 

Natalie holds degrees in Music and African-American Studies from Yale University, where she was an Edward A. Bouchet Fellow and a Swensen Scholar in the Arts. She has been selected as an Artist-in-Residence by tall poPpy and BringAbout Development and is represented by WME. 

With roots in Liberia and Slovakia, Natalie was raised in Houston, TX and is now based in Brooklyn, NY.