In 2015, rising classical composer Carlos Simon wrote “An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave.” He dedicated it to Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and “others murdered wrongfully by an oppressive power.” Simon’s reaction to the killings was a powerful musical mix of frustration, anger and fear.
“Here was a young man who could have been me — or any Black man in America,” Simon said in a recent phone interview. “Murdered in cold blood. I could physically feel the fear.
“Music is a physical, tactile thing, releasing that energy out. I went to the keyboard and improvised. I didn’t think; I just let my feelings go. It’s therapy for me.”