Music and Justice Concert, featuring Dave Brubeck’s “The Gates of Justice”
February 14, 2023
Update: The Music and Justice concert has ended
We are excited to partner with the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience to produce Music and Justice; a three-day event centered around a concert performance of The Gates of Justice on Feb. 26 at UCLA’s iconic Royce Hall.
The program features a rare performance of the landmark 1969 cantata The Gates of Justice by legendary jazz composer and musician Dave Brubeck. A fighter for civil rights, Brubeck—who was neither Jewish nor Black—wrote The Gates of Justice in an effort to unify Blacks and Jews after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chris Brubeck, son of Dave and Iola Brubeck, talks about his parents creating the The Gates of Justice
and his upcoming performance of the work this coming February 26th.
Based on Hebrew liturgical texts, African American spirituals, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, the work is scored for jazz trio, brass ensemble, chorus, tenor, and baritone, with the tenor role written in the Cantorial style of the Jewish temple, and the baritone in the spiritual style of the African-American church. It was commissioned by the umbrella organization of America’s Reform Judaism movement specifically to address increasing tensions between the Jewish and African American communities. Brubeck fused elements of African American and Jewish spiritual music, saying that he hoped the juxtaposition of musical styles would “construct a bridge upon which the universal theme of brotherhood could be communicated.”
"...Music is always holy, no matter where it comes from." Cantor Ari Schwartz will be featured
as the cantorial soloist for the February 26th livestream concert.
The first part of the concert program features works by six contemporary composers addressing social justice, including world premieres by Diane White-Clayton and multi-Grammy winner Arturo O'Farrill. More information is available at the UCLA MAJE website.
