“This was a commissioned work by the Detroit Symphony,” Rushen said. “I was commissioned to write a centerpiece for their youth orchestra. The Detroit Symphony annually would do a Martin Luther King celebration concert. And that particular year when I was asked to write the commissioned piece, they were going to be on concert tour. And so they assigned the youth orchestra the task of playing this particular concert. And they needed a piece. They wanted to premier something new. They wanted something specifically written with their orchestra in mind that centered on Martin Luther King and also did not require an additional soloist. This would be for a full orchestra. And the assignment was particularly interesting and exciting for me because these kids were 13-21-years-old. For many of them, Martin Luther King was just a name, an important name, and a historical figure to be sure. But there was no specific connection other than that which they had read in history books or saw on videos. To have me there and be able to work with them as an orchestra to create the piece and give them meaning behind the piece.”

Rushen helped bring it to life for them during her work with the orchestra.

“I was a child during that part of the Civil Rights Movement,” Rushen said. “I was able to explain what the piece was about and give them context as to things about Dr. King, things about the way people responded and reacted to his words. What they were playing is my reaction from childhood. Many of them discovered who Dr. King was on a different level. They had posted pictures of Dr. King on their music stands. They had quotes from him on their music stands. It was an interesting and wonderful discovery of the power of music and how we can have a sense of community working with the orchestra as opposed to just being a composer, sending them a piece and they play it. This was an added benefit for all.”

The three movements in the piece are called Passion from the Pulpit, The Dreamer Cometh and Freedom Is bot Free.

“The first movement is the early life, especially his involvement with the Black church and his spiritual commitment early on,” Rushen said. “As an orator, he borrowed a lot from the cadence of the church and also the power and traveling that he did as a part of his ministry. In the first movement, I used a sound that ultimately peaks out over the rest of the orchestra that offers the idea of Dr. King learning to address his audiences. The last few notes feel like an ‘Amen’ accompanying the clarinet. That’s the idea of his voice.”

The second movement is inspired by Dr. King’s work as a civil rights leader.

“The second movement speaks to the understanding that the community that he was working with wanted to grow into into a global concept,” Rushen said. “He put himself, family and friends at great risk. The letters from the Birmingham Jail are — the picture in my mind anyway — are reflective of the many times in his life that he probably had to question how and why he was doing what he was doing. He was getting letters from other clergy and people who were very positive about what he was doing and giving him credit and others were naysayers who were wondering if he was doing the right thing. The second movement opens with a bassoon solo. This is the idea again of I wanted to use instruments that have textures of the sound of the human voice, the human voice melody. We call it the miracle. We call it a melody. Everyone’s speech pattern and texture and cantor of the voice, there are certain musical instruments that go in that direction. The bassoon in that particular setting sounds very haunting and sort of a controlled abandon if you will. There is an idea of within that register how it is very, very gentle, yet very hued and a sigh. I tried to use that as a way in which makes some of those feelings from sitting in the jail alone.”

The third movement deals with the climax of King’s life and career.

“The third movement, Freedom Is not Free, is the resolution, the triumphant resolution of the resolve to move forward, to go ahead, to risk whatever needed to be risked for the greater good. It opens up with all of the instruments. It’s a nod towards overcoming things. It nods towards one of the Negro spirituals. Every aspect of what it means to feel a certain fulfillment in the knowing. And although I don’t necessarily know exactly what was on Dr. King’s mind at that particular time, the metaphor for me is the fact that his death had a knowingness for everyone. We needed to make new choices and make decisions as a people of whether or not we were going to get this right and do this or not. On the other side of that, his legacy will live on.”

In terms of those who have been involved in the project, this first CD met or exceed their expectations.

“I’ve heard the CD many times,” Rushen confided. “I’m very pleased with the performance. I was there for the recording and so I had the distinct pleasure of watching the musicians play and get to know many of them on my trips back and forth to Madison. To hear them work so beautifully together, to come together to play the piece with joy playing the piece and I think that joy and understanding of the piece  and getting to know me, all of these things factor into a unified and beautiful performance. The technical staff was really on point. And of course Andrew did a magnificent job bringing out the nuances and the details. And of course Joe made it happen. I could not be more pleased, especially as this is my first recorded outing. It certainly has been a thrill. And I couldn’t be more excited.”

Joe Loehnis, WCO’s CEO, is equally pleased and excited.

“I’m blown away,” Loehnis exclaimed. “I think Patrice’s words about all of us coming together including the community to experience the music, to engage its composers and the composers to engage with the players, it is pretty satisfying being on the other side, knowing that we were having a conversation more than two years ago and creating this platform and bringing in stakeholder groups. This is a brand new initiative for us. And we went out of the gates committing five years to recording living Black composers. And I couldn’t have asked for more professional, accomplished and really great people in both Patrice and Bill to work with. Their DNA is in the vision for the project because they were there from the beginning. Like Patrice, I listened to the album quite a few times already and I still get goosebumps knowing that we did it. This is a project that is now available to the world. They can listen to this music and I hope that more orchestras listen to the music and bring Patrice and Bill into their midst to perform to their community. I hope this inspires our audience in Madison to engage to see how music that is being created today can lift ourselves collectively, and come together. It was a vision that we launched and it’s a great first album of five to really celebrate this Thursday. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

In Rushen’s view, this is just the beginning of something new. And it’s not just about the composers.

“I appeal to your readership who are a stakeholder in the arts in ways that maybe they don’t think about,” Rushen said. “And being a stakeholder means that their participation in terms of supporting music, recording concerts, offering their suggestions as to the kinds of things that move them, they are part of that too to help composers grow in ways that are unimaginable. We have the opportunity to introduce possibilities to people and also receive the feedback. Keep on keeping on.”

Next issue: Dr. Bill Banfield