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A new album in the works at Missouri State University will memorialize the victims and raises awareness of a tragic event in Springfield.
On Easter weekend 1906, an angry mob of white men lynched three innocent Black men in the Springfield town square.
Until recently, only a small plaque marked the site in remembrance of the victims.
Missouri poet Robert Bode and composer William Averitt have partnered with Cameron LaBarr, director of choral studies at Missouri State, to create the album to memorialize the victims and raise awareness about the tragedy.
They recently released “Easter, 1906” to share this piece of Springfield’s history.
“‘Easter, 1906’ is intended to be a cautionary reminder of the profound evil that can arise from unchecked racism and mob rule,” said LaBarr, in a news release.
Bode collected material from historical documents of the period and created new poems that reflect upon this tragic event.
Averitt set Bode’s words to music for double choir, spoken narration, piano and two percussionists.
“When ‘Easter, 1906’ was first introduced to the class, I would have to say I felt very uncomfortable,” said Corey Braxton, in the release. “I thought, ‘I am surrounded by a lot of people that I don’t know and a lot of people that don’t look like me.’”
“Easter, 1906” is the third commercially-recorded album released by the Chorale in three years. Grammy-award winning producers and engineers Dirk Sobotka and John Newton also contributed to the recording.
The album is available for listening on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music, iTunes, Pandora and Spotify.
The process of producing “Easter, 1906” will also be included in a new documentary series called “Choral Singing in America.”
“In the planning of this documentary, the leadership team was looking for projects that were going on in the choral world in America that were and are important,” said LaBarr, in the release. “And this is certainly one of those things.”
“Choral Singing in America” will be released in four parts, sharing the stories of the roots of choral singing and how it transforms those who participate.
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