Joel Thompson’s choral/orchestral work The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed is an example of music facing a societal conversation and traumatic event head-on. The piece was performed in Nashville two seasons ago, and it hasn’t become any less relevant in the meantime.

A panel of musicians, arts administrators, and clergy joined together for a panel discussion of advocacy in the arts, focused on Thompson’s piece as an example. In this episode of Classically Speaking, highlights from that discussion are woven together with Thompson’s music.

Panelists included:

• Composer Joel Thompson
• Conductor Kelly Corcoran
• Choir Director Margaret Campbell-Holman
• Countertenor Patrick Dailey
• Activist and Singer Lauren Fitzgerald
• Pastor John Faison

The entire discussion (minus the music) is available on our YouTube page.

The University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club premiered the piece, and made a film version, also available via YouTube.

To download a transcript of this episode, click here: CS_32_Transcript