To Awaken the Sleeper

$16.99
Label
Reference Recordings
Release Date
August 21, 2026
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Joel Thompson
    • PERFORMER
      Kansas City Symphony, Exigence Vocal Ensemble, Joyce DiDonato, Yo-Yo-Ma, Joel Thompson
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      August 21, 2026
    • UPC
      030911176822
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      FR-768
    • LABEL
      Reference Recordings
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Officers, why do you have your guns out?

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    2. II. What are you following me for?

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    3. III. Mom, I'm going to college

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    4. IV. I don't have a gun! Stop shooting!

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    5. V. You shot me!

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    6. VI. It's not real

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    7. VII. I can't breathe

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE, Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    8. To Awaken the Sleeper

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: Kansas City Symphony

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    9. The Places We Leave

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: Kansas City Symphony

      Performer: Joyce DiDonato

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    10. breathe/burn: an elegy

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: Kansas City Symphony

      Performer: Yo-Yo Ma

      Conductor: Michael Stern

    11. The Caged Bird Sings for Freedom

      Composer: Joel Thompson

      Ensemble: EXIGENCE

      Performer: Raymond Santos, Ruben Reyes

      Conductor: Eugene Rogers


REFERENCE RECORDINGS proudly presents a landmark recording, the first commercial project to feature Joel Thompson's music exclusively, which brings together this ascendant composer and the Kansas City Symphony led by Michael Stern. The career of composer Joel Thompson has seen a meteoric rise since the premiere of his breakout choral work Seven Last Words of the Unarmed in 2015. Each of it's seven movements sets to music the last words of an unarmed Black man before he was killed. Joining them are some of the most important performers of today focused on the same crucial topics: cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and the Sphinx Organization's vocal ensemble Exigence, led by Eugene Rogers. This is powerful music of profound insight and uncompromising conviction, brought to life by the passion and artistry of eminently skilled collaborators.