Concert Program

Just Life

October 8, 2023 7:00 PM

A Note from the Artistic Director

We gather here tonight, not just as spectators of a musical performance, but as a community united by a shared commitment to addressing pressing societal issues. It is with a determined spirit and a deep sense of purpose that we come together to shed light on the realities of racial inequality and the criminal justice system, a matter first brought to the forefront of my consciousness by an incident I personally experienced one morning in Asheville, NC.

On that morning, I found myself approached by a police officer as I was on my way to retrieve personal items from my car. The encounter was marked by questions and requests for identification, leaving me bewildered and embarrassed. I want to emphasize that I had committed no wrongdoing; it was painfully evident that my only "offense" was the color of my skin.

Regrettably, such interactions with police are not isolated occurrences; they happen daily across our society, often with more tragic consequences. As I delved deeper into the history and evolution of our so-called "criminal justice" system, I recognized an opportunity to amplify voices and share perspectives that illuminate the deep-seated inequalities disproportionately affecting members of our community.

As you lend your ears to the stories and insights we present here tonight, I implore you to be inspired to delve further into the complexities of these systems and consider how you might contribute to the healing and protection of our neighbors. It is through understanding and solidarity that we can effect change.

This evening, we are honored to be joined by representatives of Black Lives Matter Grassroots, who will share their perspectives and initiatives. We invite you to connect with them and learn more about their crucial work following the concert. Our heartfelt gratitude also extends to our dedicated Board members, our exceptional soloists, and our guest musicians, all of whom have generously contributed their talents and spirits to convey this important message through music.

A special note of appreciation goes out to the remarkable singers of Tonality, who have consistently shared their musical gifts and their personal humanity in a way that is both beautiful and impactful.

In closing, we thank you for your willingness to engage with these vital topics of criminal justice and radical acceptance. May this evening be one of enlightenment, hope, and healing. We eagerly anticipate sharing this transformative space with you.

Sincerely,

Alexander Lloyd Blake
Executive/ Founding Artistic Director

Concert Program

The Circle - conducted by Kristen Simpson

Music by:
Allan Robert Petker
Text by:
Edwin Markham

He drew a circle that shut me out:
He drew a circle that shut me out:
He drew a circle that shut me out:
He drew a circle that shut me out:
He drew a circle that completely shut me out:

shut me out.

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But Love and I had the wit to win:

But Love and I had the wit to win:

But Love and I,

But Love and I had the wit,

The wit to win:

We drew a circle,

We drew a circle,

 We drew a circle that took him in,

That took him in,

That took him in.

We Tell Each Other Stories / I Am Open (from Considering Matthew Shepard)

Music by:
Craig Hella Johnson
Text by:
Craig Hella Johnson

We tell each other stories so that we will remember,

Try and find the meaning in the living of our days.

Always telling stories,

Wanting to remember

Where and whom we came from,

Who we are.

Sometimes there’s a story that’s painful to remember,

One that breaks the heart of us all.

Still we tell the story;

We’re listening and confessing

What we have forgotten

in the story of us all.

We tell each other stories so that we will remember,

Trying to find the meaning…

I am open to hear this story about a boy,

An ordinary boy,

Who never had expected his life would be this story,

(Could be any boy, any boy.)

I am open to hear a story,

I am open to hear a story,

open,

listen,

open,

listen,

all.

Gracie Laboy, soloist Kristen Simpson, accompanist

That I Could Live a Decent Life

Music by:
Stephen Trask
Text by:
Stephen Trask

Ooh, Ooh, 

Daryl played the hero

in someone else’s tale.

Even freed from prison

it felt to him like jail.

Like he was in jail.

Nineteen years a captive

for another’s acts.

While people told his story

‘til none could deny the facts

None could deny the facts.

He performed a role

with a calm smile across his face.

Scared to disappoint by showing other

than forgiveness, strength, and grace.

He hid a private terror,

woke fighting for air

“That I could live a decent life”

once had been his prayer,

That once was his prayer.

I’d like to think his last thought

was of a secret ride

Cruising with the top down

through the Blue Ridge Mountains,

April by his side.

Then the tale is over

in a truck lent by a friend.

Daryl pulled the trigger,

but he didn’t write the end.

He didn’t write the end.

He didn’t want that end.

Zachary Zaret and Anna Crumley, soloists Kristen Simpson, accompanist

kalief browder

Music by:
brad wells
Text by:
brad wells

ah…

twelve by seven…

can i get that bread?...

Twelve by

Twelve by seven

Twelve by seven

Twelve by seven

Twelve by seven

Twelve by seven

Ah, ah

Twelve by seven

Ah, ah

Can I get that…

Can I get that bread?

Can I get that…

Can I get that bread?

Can I…

Can I…

Can I…

Can I…

Can I get that bread?

Ah, ah (angry)

Ah, ah (rage)

Oooh

Twelve by

Twelve by seven

Twelve by seven

Ah, ah…

Can I get that bread?

Twelve by seven

Can I get that bread?

Can I get that bread?

Twelve by seven…

Can I get that bread?

1232 Lyfe

Music by:
Alexander Lloyd Blake
Text by:
Alexander Lloyd Blake

1 2 3…

1 2 and 3, 2 and 3 to 1 2 and 3…

I’m sitting here facin’ twenty-five to life,

You met up with some friends and got in a fight.

You know that the system is made to throw us away,

nothing has changed.

But that was fifteen years ago,

he took the socks cuz our baby’s feet were cold.

Didn’t know that the sins of my past would come back tenfold,

life no parole.

How could you call this a crime?

They sayin’ one mo’ time they give me life.

Strike 3 2 1

Oh we’re runnin’ outta time.

A system broken

Many years stolen

For a petty crime

Twenty five to life,

Locked away, forgotten

There’s no room to forgive in a law that stems from pain.

Fear and justice aren’t the same.

Where is there room for grace when a law says one to three,

3 to life

All of my, all, all of my life

A system broken,

Many years stolen.

For a petty crime,

Twenty five to life,

Locked away, forgotten.

This law, this system broken,

Too many years are stolen, why?

The cost must match the price, not a life.

This law, this system broken,

Too many years are stolen, why?

The cost must match the price, not a life.

1 2 and 3, 2 and 3 to 1 2 and 3, 3 2 life.

Luz Rodriguez and 'Sekend, soloists / Luz Rodriguez, Natalie Gonzalez, and David Morales, trio

Baby Boy (from the opera "Stinney")

Music by:
Frances Pollock
Text by:
Frances Pollock

Baby boy, baby boy,

Where you gone,

Where you gone?

Baby boy, baby boy,

What you done,

What you done?

Ah, ah

Oh my little girl,

My son,

My child,

How could I have let you go?

How can you be gone?

My baby girl, full of joy.

My little boy, almost a man.

How can a mother go on?

How can I go on?

Baby boy

How can I go on?

Baby boy

My child

How can I go on?

Baby boy

My child

Ah, ah

Baby boy,

Where you gone?

Where you gone?

Baby boy, baby boy,

Where you gone?

Where you gone?

Ah, ah

Hagar Adam, Cassandra Duschane, Elicia Freeman, Caroline McKenzie, Adriana Manfredi, soloists

We Were Kings Once

Music by:
Joel Thompson
Text by:
Joel Thompson

We were kings once

And we wielded our power ruthlessly

Invincible as long as our guns were high,

And the things we did were written across the sky.

We were kings once,

Dispensaries overflowing,

We medicated individuals with the balm for their need:

Cocaine, heroin, ecstacy and weed.

We were kings once

And we never realized our world was glass

And we never realized the sands of time slowly flowing,

Pushing us into a different world without us knowing,

Without us knowing we were kings once.

Trapped in a war of circumstance,

Badgered by bad choices,

Worse options, fate

Boxed in by poverty and dreams and love

And hate and hate and hate and HATE!

We were kings once…

We failed our subjects.

We failed our families, our people, our homes,

We failed our nation.

We were kings.

Once.

Kristen Simpson, accompanist

Let My Love Be Heard

Music by:
Jake Runestad
Text by:
Jake Runestad

Oo, oo,

Angels where you soar up to God’s own light,

Take my own lost bird on your hearts tonight,

And as grief once more mounts to heaven and sings,

Let my love be heard.

Love.

Angels where you soar up to God’s own light,

Take my own lost bird on your hearts tonight,

And as grief once more mounts to heaven and sings,

Let me love be heard,

Let my love be heard whispering in your wings.

Ah…

Let my love be heard

Let my love be heard

Let my love be heard

Let my love be heard

Let my love be heard

Let my love be heard

Angels where you soar, up to God,

Ah…

Let my love be heard.

You Find Yourself Here

Music by:
Dale Trumbore
Text by:
Dale Trumbore

You find yourself here,

different somehow,

learning to build a life worth living.

You carry it home.

You learn to abandon what isn't important,

to sit still,

to stay in one place.

You learn to watch over yourself

when there's no one else

to watch over,

and no one to watch over you.

You see yourself reflected;

you learn to love what you see.

You live with yourself,

you live.

You find yourself here,

different somehow,

learning to build a life worth living.

You carry it home.

Build Me Up

Music by:
Roman GianArthur
Text by:
Roman GianArthur

Please, please, see me.

Please, see me.

Starin’ at the wall,

Prayin’ to a poster,

Askin’ for an answer

to how to make it over,

Funny how the room

Full of total strangers

Can make you feel

at home

And ease the burdens

that you came with.

 

Yeah, so Build me up, 

Help me stand, 

I’m out of touch,

I need a hand 

In the dark I feel alone

Shine a light on my soul.

Build me up

Livin’ life alone,

Keepin’ it together

Ain’t as easy when you in

a time of stormy weather.

Funny how a prayer

reaches to your neighbor,

And even has the power

to change

a sinner to a savior.

Yeah, so Build me up, 

Help me stand 

I’m out of touch,

I need a hand, 

In the dark I feel alone

Shine a light on my soul.

Build me up,

Tryin’ to catch the rhythm,

I’m tryin’ to make it over,

I’m not the only one

leanin’ on your shoulder.

We all need to hear a word,
need somebody

to bring me home,

To carry home.

Yeah, so Build me up, 

Help me stand, 

I’m out of touch, I need a hand, 

In the dark I feel alone

Shine a light on my soul.

Build me up.

Roman GianArthur and Ayo Awosika, soloists Nathan Heldman, accompanist

Performers

Soprano

  • Hagar Sara Adam
  • Anna Crumley
  • Cassandra Duschane
  • Gracie Laboy
  • Estelle Ocegueda
  • Becca Tomasko

Alto

  • Natalie Gonzalez
  • Adrianna Manfredi
  • AnnaMarie Meyer
  • Stephen Pitters
  • Angelica Rowell
  • Rachel Steinke

Tenor

  • Tyler Berg
  • Isaiah Chacon
  • Davon DeBerry-Martin
  • David Morales
  • Solomon Reynolds
  • Zachary Zaret

Bass

  • Josh Gronlund
  • Ian Gabriel Luna
  • Zev Marx-Kahn
  • Max Smith
  • Theo Trevisan
  • Lorenzo Zapata

Soloists

  • Ayo Awosika (1232 Lyfe; Build Me Up)
  • Elicia Freeman (Baby Boy)
  • Roman GianArthur (Build Me Up)
  • Caroline McKenzie (Baby Boy)

Instrumentalists

  • Kristen Simpson, piano
  • Nathan Heldman, piano (Build Me Up)

Hearing Interpreters

  • Selena Flowers
  • Brianna Barber
  • Melissa Marquez

Deaf Interpreters

  • La'Rina Carolina
  • Ashlea Hayes

Special Thanks

Tonality Board of Directors

  • Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake, Executive/Founding Director
  • Dr. David Connors, Chairperson
  • Caroline McKenzie, Vice-Chairperson
  • Joe Trapanese, Secretary
  • Dr. Kimberly Bradshaw, Treasurer
  • Jacob Broussard
  • Roman GianArthur
  • Shawn Kirchner
  • Jordan Reddout
  • Julie Smith

Honorary Board Members

  • Michael Abels
  • Kris Bowers
  • Lara Downes
  • Dr. Melissa Dunphy
  • Brian Lauritzen
  • Nikky Finney
  • Kevin “K.O.” Olusola
  • Joel Thompson

Advisory Board Members

  • Dr. Derrell Acon
  • Stacy Brightman
  • Melissa Denton
  • Kristy Edmunds
  • Ted Hearne
  • Luke McEndarfer
  • Thomas Mikusz
  • Jen Rogers
  • Sara Scott
  • Leslie Thomas
  • Booker White

We sincerely thank:

  • ProBono ASL
  • Alex Morales, Company Manager
  • Melissa Lai, Administration Intern
  • Lauren Potter, Social Media
  • Bucklesweet Media, Public Relations
  • Louis Ng, Videographer
  • Sammy Sohn, Photographer
  • The Ebell of Los Angeles

We are gathered today on the unceded land of the Tongva peoples. We ask you to join us in acknowledging the Tongva community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. This land has nourished, healed, protected and embraced the Tongva peoples for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony. As members of the Tonality community we acknowledge this legacy. We promote this balance and harmony. We find inspiration from this land; the land of the Tongva. This acknowledgement demonstrates Tonality’s commitment to the process of dismantling the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism and honoring our Nation’s Indigenous Peoples.

Acknowledgments

2023 Supporters of Tonality

  • California Arts Council
  • California Community Foundation LA Arts Recovery Fund
  • California Impact Grant
  • City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
  • Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture Organizational Grant
  • Michael and Irene Ross Endowment of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles
  • Tejemos Foundation

Tonality Sustainers ($10,000 & above)

  • Alexander Blake
  • Tejemos Foundation

Tonality Sponsors (up to $10,000)

  • Leigh Jones-Bamman
  • Peter Rutenberg
  • Israel Schachter
  • Joseph Trapanese

Tonality Contributors (up to $5,000)

  • Sara Scott

Tonality Supporters (up to $2,500)

  • David Connors
  • Shawn Kirchner
  • Jodie Landau
  • Kevin Olusola
  • Caroline Robinson

Tonality Builders (up to $1,000)

  • Michael Abels
  • Kenneth Foster
  • Roman GianArthur
  • Stuart Marks
  • John McGuire
  • Booker White

Tonality Friends (up to $500)

  • Jamie Crawford
  • Brian Gorelick
  • Eva Jones
  • Carolyn Kelley
  • Karen Murphy O'Brien
  • Pavane Music Inc
  • Julie Smith
  • Joel Thompson
  • Brandon Faber & Matthew Turner Shelton
  • Frank & Catherine Zachary

Tonality Community (up to $100)

  • Michael Anderson
  • Steffany Ayala
  • Liza Beth
  • Stacy Brightman
  • Denise Carite
  • Katie Crawford
  • Michael Davis
  • Glenda Delenstarr
  • Lisa Dent
  • Julie Eidsvoog
  • Klo Garoute
  • Tyler Griffin
  • Marina Harris
  • Evan Johnson
  • Daniel Jordan
  • Victoria Kirsch
  • Randall Lindsey
  • Guy Maeda
  • Rachel Maloney
  • Lisa Margaroli
  • Cynthia Marty
  • Jack McHugh
  • Brenda Reddout
  • Michael Rowan
  • Dave Schmidt
  • Moira Smiley
  • Beth Snowden-Ifft
  • Elizabeth Thomas
  • Amelia Thompson
  • David Topping
  • Pietro Torrisi
  • Maura Tuffy
  • Anne Watson Born

2023-2024 Tonality Community Advocates

  • David Connors
  • Caroline Robinson

Support Affiliated Non-Profits

Black Lives Matter Grassroots LA

BLM Grassroots is calling for the end to qualified immunity, the unjust legal doctrine that shields police from accountability when they kill and harm people.

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Upcoming Events

The Wallis | At War With Ourselves - 400 Years of You
Saturday, February 15, 2025
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7:30 pm
The Wallis | At War With Ourselves - 400 Years of You

Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl At War With Ourselves – 400 Years of You features a text by National Book Award-winning poet Nikky Finney inspired by her 2013 poem “The Battle of and for the Black Face Boy.” The music was composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Abels, composer for the Jordan Peele films Us and Get Out. This powerful new work for string quartet, narrator, and chorus explores race relations, social justice, and civil rights in 21st century America. KRONOS QUARTET TONALITY MUSIC BY Michael Abels TEXT & NARRATION BY Nikky Finney CONDUCTED BY Alexander Lloyd Blake

The Wallis | Put Your Guns Down
Saturday, May 24, 2025
|
7:30 pm
The Wallis | Put Your Guns Down

Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl Making their Wallis debut, GRAMMY-award winning vocal choir Tonality combines melodic harmonies to present concerts on themes of social justice in hopes to catalyze empathy and community activism. Put Your Guns Down discusses issues related to gun violence in the United States. Some of the selections will discuss mass shootings, police brutality, the effects on victims, school shootings, and suicide prevention. The concert also focuses on an active sense of peace as we come together to find solutions toward the epidemic of gun violence in this country. This evening’s performance will feature the world premiere of Alexander Lloyd Blake’s Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery.