JAMES LEE III Abraham ’ s Sons ( In Memoriam Trayvon Martin )
“ I want to compose music to reach the inner soul of the listener that elevates them regardless of race and religious affiliation .” – Lee
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1975 in St . Joseph , MI
• Lee was raised attending a Seventh-day Adventist Church , where he was regularly exposed to music .
• At age 12 , he began taking piano lessons and sang in the choir , even winning several young composer awards .
• Lee earned a bachelor ’ s and master ’ s degree in piano performance and later a doctorate in composition , all from the University of Michigan .
• In 2002 Lee won a Tanglewood composition fellowship and started receiving greater recognition when his work Beyond Rivers of Vision was performed at the Kennedy Center by the NSO with Leonard Slatkin conducting . His works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra , Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , New World Symphony , and more .
• He continues to write and is currently a professor at Morgan State University .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
2014
MUSIC Pharrell Williams ’ “ Happy ”
FILM The Grand Budapest Hotel
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Abraham ’ s Sons , written in 2014 , is a one-movement work for solo cello dedicated to the family of Florida teen Trayvon Martin .
• The evocative solo cello part reveals a powerful yet vulnerable work .
LITERATURE Cristina Henriquez ’ The Book of Unknown Americans
HISTORY Michael Brown , Tamir Rice , and Eric Garner are killed by police
BSO SESSIONS | JANUARY 2021
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