The Notts X Iowa MusicIC Collaboration has come to an end!
Every year, Iowa City is home to the MusicIC Festival. MusicIC, Iowa City’s premiere chamber music festival, explores the connections between music and literature. This year’s theme was THE BLACK ANGEL: Music, Myth and Memory, examining how composers across centuries have engaged with themes of morality, symbolism, and the unseen, while also drawing inspiration from Iowa City’s own Black Angel legend.
The 2026 festival was supported by a Marketing and Publicity Intern from another UNESCO City of Literature. Mia Hagues, from Nottingham in the UK, assisted the team in Iowa, helping to promote the festival and design communications. As part of her internship, she created the Notts X Iowa MusicIC Collaboration, and was Project Coordinator for the duration of the project.
The Black Angel’s Lament
Watch the piece here:
The Notts X Iowa MusicIC Collab presents ‘The Black Angel’s Lament’ by Josie Nabhan-Warren and Max Worth. ‘The Black Angel’s Lament’ is an interdisciplinary work for spoken poetry and solo piano. It brings music and verse together to explore the folklore surrounding the Black Angel Statue of Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City – an eight and a half foot tall bronze statue erected in 1912.
Over more than a century, the statue has become the focus of many local legends involving curses, death and other paranormal happenings.
The poetry channels this myth surrounding the angel to form a gothic piece that questions our own ideas of life and death. Standing in front of the black angel is a singular experience, leaving visitors dwarfed not only by the monument itself, but by what it represents.
Spoken through the voice of the Black Angel, it draws upon that feeling of obscurity and smallness we might experience when confronted by death. The Black angel admonishes her visitors for their naive understanding of mortality, recounting her own story to explain the truth of death.
Written for solo piano, the music follows the dramatic arc and shifting atmosphere of the poem. Its cold, dark sound reflects both the physical nature of the statue, and the folklore that surrounds it. The music is written with seven beats in a bar, an uneven metre that never quite settles, creating an off-balance and unsettling quality.
Produced for the Notts X Iowa MusicIC Collab, and edited by Notts-based start-up Untitled Multimedia, it is an example of international collaboration, celebrating the talent of two young creatives.
So, what was the Notts X Iowa MusicIC Collaboration?
Connecting two young artists from Nottingham and Iowa, the Notts X Iowa MusicIC Collaboration tasked a musician from Nottingham, and a writer from Iowa City, with creating a multi-medium piece inspired by this year’s MusicIC festival.
This collaboration showcased the connection between music and literature, whilst also celebrating the MusicIC festival within the wider Creative Cities Network. Bringing local talent from two UNESCO Cities of Literature to a global audience, we wanted to champion young creatives and give them access to the international network that we are so fortunate to be a part of.
The two artists attended weekly, virtual meetings to work on their piece, and communicated solely online, making the piece even more impressive!
Launch Party!
We celebrated the launch of this fantastic example of creative collaboration on 12 August 2026, 6pm UK time (12pm Iowa time). A day that just so happened to be International Youth Day!
We hosted a virtual watch party where 25 audience members watched an exclusive screening of the piece, took part in a Q&A with the artists, and learned more about the work of our cities of literature! Hosted by Mia Hagues, it championed a piece that was produced across an ocean, by two wonderful young creatives.
Meet our Artists
 | Max WorthMax Worth is our musician from Nottingham! A young instrumentalist and composer, Max has composed for a variety of ensembles. His pieces have been performed twice by a full student symphony orchestra at EYSM (European Youth Summer Music), which he attends every summer, and his primary instruments are Piano and Alto Saxophone. Recently, Max has returned to the UK from his gap year, during which he and his girlfriend spent five months living in Australia, before three months of backpacking through South-East Asia. From September, Max has an unconditional offer to study Film, TV and Game Music at Leeds Conservatoire. |
 | Josie Nabhan-WarrenJosie Nabhan-Warren is our writer from Iowa City! A rising senior at West High School in Iowa City, Josie is a performer in show choir and cheerleading, as well as a staff member of her school’s literary magazine, Grapevine. Josie writes to express herself authentically and turn ordinary life into art that connects people. She loves glittery hair accessories, 80s movies, Fleetwood Mac, and attempting to sing the harmony line. When not in any extracurriculars, Josie can be found studying in cafes, exploring downtown, or driving around blasting music with her friends. She plans to attend college for writing and linguistics. |
Thank you to our supporters!
This project was made possible thanks to the support of several people and organisations on both sides of the Atlantic. A huge thank you to:
Project Coordinator – Mia Hagues
Iowa-based Poet – Josie Nabhan-Warren
Nottingham-based Musician – Max Worth
Iowa Videography by – Ty Coleman, City of Iowa City Media Production Services
Nottingham Videography by – Callum Parkin & Euan Waugh (Untitled Multimedia Ltd)
Final Video Edited by – Callum Parkin & Euan Waugh (Untitled Multimedia Ltd)
Iowa segment recorded at the Black Angel Statue, Oakland Cemetery, 1000 Brown Street, Iowa City.
Nottingham segment recorded at the Audience & Music Practice Hub (Department of Music, University of Nottingham), with support from the AMP Hub Team
Thanks to the support from Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature & Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature
With funding from Arts Council England