Alan Lawson
Born: 1993, Cincinnati

Legacy

Legacy (2023) is inspired by the struggles that were present during the Civil Rights movement. Most notably, Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

Lawson further explains:

The opening is inspired by spirituals that were sung by enslaved people, which transitions into a section meant to invoke the feeling of a march that also uses a variation of the same theme. Sprinkled throughout the piece, you will also hear a version of the melody from the anthem “We Shall Overcome,” one of the more prominent songs that was sung during the civil rights movement, but with my own twist. I really wanted to take listeners back to those times so that they could picture themselves marching and singing along with everyone else. The piece ends on a somber note in order to honor all of the lives that were lost, as well as to show that, even though we have come a long way, we still have a way to go before all people can truly come together and unite as one.