Trombone Concerto - 2. Remembering Birmingham 1963 by Kangyi Zhang

Trombone Concerto "Let Freedom Ring!" by Kangyi Zhang
Wes Lebo (trombone)
NAFA Wind Orchestra conducted by Joost Flaach
16th March 2017 "Escape" concert recording

1st: https://soundcloud.com/kangyi-zhang/trombone-concerto-1-rosa-parks-and-the-freedom-riders
3rd: https://soundcloud.com/kangyi-zhang/trombone-concerto-3-i-have-a-dream

The conception of this piece coincided with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. While I was writing this work, the news media was dominated by nation-wide protests inspired by racial injustice involving Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and others. In late Dec 2015, “Black Lives Matter” protestors made the news after several incidents with the police at airports and highways. The struggle for racial equality is ongoing and an ever-pertinent issue.

Familiar themes form the bedrock of this work, ‘We Shall Overcome’, ‘We Shall Not Be Moved’, ‘Oh Freedom!’, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, and ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’. Throughout the work, the trombonist takes on multiple roles: a narrator, Rosa Parks, an eyewitness, a protestor and Martin Luther King.

1st movement: https://soundcloud.com/kangyi-zhang/trombone-concerto-1-rosa-parks-and-the-freedom-riders

2. Remembering Birmingham 1963
After the events in the first movement, an eyewitness (solo trombone) cries for freedom. The solemn “Oh Freedom!” is used in this beautiful lament. Next, a protestor depicts the cataclysmic events of the protests in Birmingham. The violent orchestral strokes represent the brutality from police and white supremacists. Fragments from “Go tell it on the Mountain”, “Oh Freedom” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” are used to generate the motoric trombone line and orchestral responses. The chaos culminates in a grand chorus rendition. Lastly, a peaceful coda symbolizes the first signs of freedom. The trials and tribulations of the protestors have not been in vain.