Jackson A. Waters - Defending Greenwood - II. May 31, 1921 (2023) [w/ score]

Movements II & III premiered by the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra as the Emerging Black Composers Project Winner 2025 Premiered on August 8, 2026 Conducted by Cristian Măcelaru Website: https://www.jacksonawaters.com/ Learn more here: https://lnk.to/jacksonawaters __ Defending Greenwood is a programmatic work following the events of the nearly forgotten Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. Considered to be "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history," the Tulsa Race Massacre occurred in Greenwood, Oklahoma, also known as "Black Wall Street," for being one of the most economically thriving black towns in America. A prospering city was destroyed due to a false scandal. After a black teenager was accused of assaulting a white woman in an elevator, the white community in Tulsa raged. Law enforcement and white rioters decimated Greenwood and the residents living there. Each movement depicts the days surrounding the event. Mvt. II - May 31, 1921 Newspapers published a confrontation between black and white armed mobs around the courthouse. He was arrested, and black World War I vets rushed to the courthouse to prevent a lynching. Shots were fired and the outnumbered Black residents began retreating to the Greenwood District. Mvt. III - June 1, 1921 Early in the morning, white rioters launched an assault on Greenwood. They shut down the phone systems, and the railway, removing access for the Red Cross to assist. Airplanes were flown above where rifles were fired and bombs were dropped, hitting buildings and people. White rioters burned houses and businesses, and many focused on killing all the Black residents they could see. Victims recall running outside of their house and passing dead bodies. __ From Carnegie Hall to Abbey Road Studios, BMI Composer Award Winner Jackson A. Waters is crafting musical experiences that connect genres, disciplines, and audiences together. His compositional style has earned awards and performances from the New York Youth Symphony’s Jon Deak First Music Grand Prize, American Composers Orchestra Earshot with the Nashville Symphony, Emerging Black Composers Project Cabrillo Prize, ARTZenter Composer Grant, NYU Orchestra Composer Residency, Salastina’s Composer Collective, and more. Additionally, Jackson has collaborated with interdisciplinary creatives such as the dance company Emerge125, painters such as Ari Kim, and filmmakers.