EUR Concert Review: Tonality Offers a Twofer: Entertainment and a Lesson in Social Justice
*Social justice advocacy takes many forms and uses many platforms. Grammy award winning vocal choir Tonality uses their musical platform to perform songs that invoke conversation, and hopefully, social justice change.
Each concert focuses on a different social justice issue. Tonality are a movement all their own.
Recently, Tonality, under the direction of Artistic Director Alexander Lloyd Blake, and thanks to the generosity of Terri and Jerry Kohl, brought their beautiful melodic voices and incredible talent to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, in Beverly Hills, for an impactful performance of “Put Your Guns Down.”
As the title suggests, the performance centered around gun violence, in various forms.
The beginning of the concert included reverberating dialogue that gave staggering and depressing statistics about gun violence, while the choir sang “No More.” It was a very powerful beginning and set the stage for evening.
Each song performed spoke to a different aspect of gun violence. As a lead-in to several of the songs, either Mr. Blake gave an introduction for the motivation behind the song, or a member of the choir gave a very moving personal statement about the song.
For example, Mr. Blake shared “A Lullaby” was about the Sandy Hook school shooting.
“Please Stay” was about suicide, and was introduced by one of the choir members whose grandfather died by suicide.
“Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” was about the last words of Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, and Oscar Grant, who were all murdered by/under some form of law enforcement covenant.
Mr. Blake had forewarned the audience that some of the material may be uncomfortable to hear, and it was okay to leave out and take a break, if necessary. Instead of seeing people take a break, I heard reactions in the audience that let me know the songs were like E.F. Hutton, meaning people were listening.
After a brief intermission, the second half of the concert began. It was the premiere of, “Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery,” and was written by Mr. Blake.
It began with Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, who was in attendance, receiving a standing ovation.
She thanked people for not forgetting about her son, for keeping his name alive and explained about the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. She then read the mother of all poems that she wrote about her son.
It mentioned the kind of person he was and included his love of running, which is what he was doing when he was murdered on February 23, 2020, hence the title of the program.
Mrs. Cooper-Jones’ appearance was something special and a highlight to the evening.
The songs performed detailed his life up to his killing, and included song titles and words centered around: I. Who Was Ahmaud, II. Life Defined, III. Oak and Pine Trees, IV. Saltilla Shores, V. The Incident, VI. Don’t Run Away, VII. No More, and VIII. Running Free. This portion of the concert was “deep and profound,” words I heard used by some of the audience. I cannot disagree with them.
The beautiful Wallis is no stranger to hosting performances that educate, enlighten and entertain. They host a variety of top-tier events in a friendly, comfortable and professional setting. Tonality and “Put Your Guns Down’ can be added to the list of top-notch performances, thanks to Terri and Jerry Kohl, who make Music @ the Wallis possible. The standing ovation and extended applause were evidence that the concert was well received.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via MzSportsJunkie@gmail.com.
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