On Nov. 5,  2023, composers Dr. Nicholas Reeves and Isaac Cates and conductor Dr. Anthony Maglione presented the world premiere of “The Canon for Racial Reconciliation”.

About The Canon

The Canon was commissioned by William Jewell College in 2020 shortly after protests surrounding the death of George Floyd. The concert program describes that the music seeks to “[fuse] the traditions of the Black Church and Orthodox Christianity,” and is the first piece of its kind. The work was set for two choirs: Cardinalis, which is composed of William Jewell College’s top choral students and professional singers from the Kansas City metro area; and Ordained, led by director of music outreach at the Church of the Resurrection Isaac Cates.

The concert program briefly summarizes the piece’s objective in the tagline, “Glory to God for all the flowers in His garden.” Meaning humans represent many different types of flowers; while each one is different, every flower is valuable.

Musical Style

The piece combines two distinct musical styles: that of traditional choral music and that of traditionally Black churches. It weaves these two together with great success. The traditional choral pieces relied heavily on piano, violin and trumpet; the Black church pieces involved significant audience engagement. Composer Nicholas Reeves used a sampler to great effect, overlaying disparate elements such as rushing water or a Martin Luther King, Jr. speech. “We found ways to bring the traditions, the sounds, the oral traditions all together,” Cates told KCUR. “Even the composing of the piece, I think, is reconciliatory.” 

Can art achieve reconciliation?

The day after the concert, the creators of the Canon sat down at the Oxbridge Symposium of Race and Art, an event hosted by Oxbridge senior tutor Dr. Elizabeth Sperry. The question being discussed was,  “To what extent, if at all, can art promote racial reconciliation?”

All three creators agreed that art could take a significant role in racial reconciliation. “Part of reconciliation,” Mr. Cates noted, “is saying people’s names.” The Canon sought to do that from the outset. Thus, on the first page of the program, Dr. Reeves highlights the significance of American composer Eva Jessye in the Canon. Miss Jessye compiled “My Spirituals”, which is a collection of authentically sourced spirituals. “Jessye’s arrangements,” writes Reeves, “are heard as melodic extractions, the harmonic foundation, or direct quotations. In effect, Eva Jessye becomes the third composer of the ‘Canon.’”

Sourcing music authentically, though, does not assist in reconciliation if the art is not genuine. According to Cates, “For art to be genuine, it has to be lived in. Empathy can start with just learning [about] each other.” 

Reeves observed that the Canon “allowed people to connect at a human level,” and Maglione agreed. Dr. Maglione “believe[s that] if everyone sang in choir, maybe they’d all learn how to listen to each other.”

Reconciliation begins with empathy and connection; if there is no connection between people, racist stereotypes can continue. The first step in reconciliation is realization—the realization that all of us are human. We must first humanize the dehumanized, lift up the downtrodden and examine our internal biases. Then, we are able to ask a question of justice. Reconciliation requires both.

Every family has their own Thanksgiving traditions. Some try something new every year, but my family’s tradition has been the same for as long as I can remember. 

My mom, two younger sisters and I have always had Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma, who we moved in with a few years ago. Each year, we spend the day cooking and prepping for dinner. First, we begin roasting the turkey in the oven, then work on the many side dishes. This task takes up most of the day, but afterwards we can enjoy the food. My main cooking responsibilities are usually making the green bean casserole and cranberry sauce and helping with the pumpkin pie.

When dinner time finally arrives, we eat an array of foods such as turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans, homemade rolls and pumpkin pie. Sometimes dinner also includes ham, green bean casserole or macaroni and cheese. We have these foods each year, but on occasion, my mom will find a new recipe to try out like a side dish or dessert. 

The foods I most look forward to are the turkey with cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. My younger sisters tend to enjoy sweeter foods like pumpkin pie the most. We all also really enjoy the homemade rolls and macaroni and cheese. 

My favorite part of this yearly Thanksgiving tradition is the extra time I get to dedicate to my family. Cooking with my mom throughout the day brings back memories of helping my grandma cook when I was younger. Most of the time, I am too busy with school and work to have a nice sit-down meal with my family, so Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to spend the day together cooking, enjoying a homemade meal and watching a holiday movie. 

I am so grateful to have a family that is so close to one another, and I look forward to spending Thanksgiving with them this year – and every year!