SONGS OF REMEMBERING TONALITY,
LLOYD BLAKE, WILD
Artwork Credit: Daniel Hurlin - Produced by Joseph Trapanese - Music Published Through EKALB Music Inc.
Recorded at Warner Bros Studios, Burbank, California 08/26/2025 and Second Story Sound, New York, New York 09/04/25 Engineered by John Chapman & Alex Venguer (tr. 1, 8) - Mastered by Jett Galindo - Assistant Engineering by Jeff Fitzpatrick Dolby Atmos Mastering by Jett Galindo & Will Kennedy at Studio Delux Immersive
Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery
I. Who Was Ahmaud?
II. Life Defined
III. Oak and Pine Trees
IV. Satilla Shores
V. The Incident
VI. Running From, Running To
VII. No More!
VIII. Running Free
Deep River (arr. Alexander Lloyd Blake)
Poor Wayfaring Stranger (arr. Alexander Lloyd Blake) No More! (a cappella) from Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery
Tonality
Soloists: Angel Blue, Soprano; Jamal M. Moore, Baritone; Ogi, Alto Sopranos: Hagar Sara Adam, Anna Crumley, Cassandra Duschane, Triniti Gistand, Vi Jordan, Gracie Laboy. Altos: Hannah Abrahim, Evelyn Fajardo, Even Johnson, Hannah Lewis, Angelica Rowell, Alex Siegers. Tenors: Jake Angel, Samuel Avila, Isaiah Chacon, David F. Morales, Josh Munnell, Rohan Ramanan. Basses: Antonio Fernandez, Sam Garcia, Dylan Gentile, Lorenzo Zapata, Matthew Lewis, Ian Luna
Wild Up
Violin: Mona Tia, Adrianne Pope; Viola: Carson Rick; Cello: Niall Taro Bass: Marlon Martinez; Oboe: Arthur Klaassens; Flute: Erin McKibben Piano: Vicki Ray; Percussion: Brian Cannady
Additional Music by: Charlie Coffeen, Thomas Kotcheff, Jonathan Bartz, and Clark Rhee
“This album is deeply personal to me. Songs of Remembering centers on my choral work Running From, Running To, written to honor the life of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-yearold Black man murdered while jogging in Georgia in 2020. His story compelled me to reflect on memory, justice, and resilience through music. Paired with new arrangements of Poor Wayfaring Stranger and the world-premiere recording of Deep River, this project is my way of remembering, grieving, and envisioning healing together.”
“I am deeply grateful to Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, for her blessing and support, and to the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation for standing beside her in this work. My thanks to Copland House, where I began writing Running From, Running To, and to the MAP Fund, whose generous support made its creation, premiere, and recording possible. I am indebted to The Wallis and the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts for co-commissioning this work and presenting it in performance. I also wish to thank Warner Bros. Studios for their generous donation of recording space, and Joe Trapanese for his encouragement and inspiration in bringing this music to life. Finally, I am grateful to Imani Tolliver for her guidance with the text, and to Emily LaSalle, Ninette Ayala, and Alex Morales for their dedicated work behind the scenes. ”
–Alexander Lloyd Blake
TR. 1-8: RUNNING FROM, RUNNING TO: A MUSICAL REFLECTION ON AHMAUD ARBERY
I. Who Was Ahmaud?
Choir: Ahmaud, Who was Ahmaud?
Ahmaud, Who were you?
We live on with a memory about a young man, a Black man, the youngest of three, whose death ignited a movement.
But who were you, who were you in life?
Wanda Cooper-Jones: You were my son, my little jokester, my Quez
You were so strong in how you cared
Treating strangers and friends alike, that’s who you were.
You’d never leave without an “I love you.”
A lesson left with me
WCJ: Where was the love shown t’ward my son?
Choir: (Ahmaud) (who was Ahmaud?)
WCJ: Where was the love? My son
Choir: (Ahmaud)
WCJ: Where was the love?
Choir: (Ahmaud, who were you?)
WCJ: My Ahmaud, Ahmaud.
II. Life Defined
Ahmaud: One dark moment won’t shape my name, nor will hatred be my claim.
I have loved, I’ve run, I’ve lost, I’ve grown.
My story’s mine to shape and mine to own.
Choir: Is life defined by the trials we face?
Are we moments we can’t erase?
Or are we the love that forever streams, the path we run, the light we shine, the dreams we dream?
III. Oak and Pine Trees
(choir in parenthesis)
Ahmaud: The sunlight calls me. The day has just begun.
I lace my shoes for the race I have to run.
As I make a plan, I paint a picture of where I want to be.
I see the dream. It calls to me. To run, to reach for what can be.
The wind, it carries the smell of oak and pine.
The water whispers of all that could be mine.
So my mind can fly where feet can’t take me, t’wards a better life
I see (I see) the dream (the dream). It calls (it calls) to me (to me).
To run (to run) to reach (to reach) for what (for what) can be (can be)
(I see) I see a light (the dream) Beyond where I’ve ever been (It calls) a life where I can rise (to me) with people I love (to run) I’ll buy a plot of land (to reach) where my friends and I can go (for what) I’ll lift up my mother (can be) and give her a better home (I see) It’s right in front of me (the dream) I know it’s in front of me (it calls) if I keep on goin’ I know it’s right there (to me)
Right there, right there
Mm Ooh
The sunlight calls me. The day has just begun.
IV. Satilla Shores
Choir: You looking for a private paradise, with southern charm that’s easy on the eyes?
All at a suitable price where your neighbors look safe with a tone that feels right.
Views of the ocean that you’ve never seen, can keep your doors ajar to feel the breeze.
Scenic, secluded with pleasures you’d adore in Satilla Shores.
A cozy nest away from all the crime.
An easy living that’s so hard to find.
Fresh air will do you some good with a little more “neighbor” a little less “hood.”
The water feels like heaven on your skin.
And hear the willows rustle in the wind
Nature with ev’rything you could want and more in Satilla Shores, Satilla Shores, Satilla Shores! Satilla Shores!
IV. Satilla Shores (cont)
But listen close, through the rustle of the trees, a melody the wind won’t carry.
Oak trees through cent’ries weighed down by secrets resembling strange fruit.
Their roots (their roots), deep with blood and mem’ry, reveal the true foundation (the truth). Those who aim to reside on this land would be wise to seek out what else lingers in Satilla Shores.
The trees stretch to the sky, with limbs stretched wide they offer shade.
The roots stretch down beneath and run through graves that have no name.
The breeze so soft and cool feels wonderful across the skin.
The shore can calm the soul and washes over memories.
Trees bear the weight. Roots twist beneath. Breeze stirs the still. Shore swallows sound.
The trees. The roots. The breeze. The shore.
The trees. The roots. The breeze. The shore.
The trees. The roots. The breeze. The shore.
The trees. The roots. The breeze. The shore.
The trees. The roots. The breeze. The shore.
The trees. The roots. The breeze. The shore.
V. The Incident
(choir in parenthesis)
(Who’s that?
That Black man. Who’s that?
That Black man.)
Man 1: Who’s that? It’s that man!
(That Black man.)
Man 1: Tall, athletic,
Man 3: fast, aggressive,
Man 2: looks suspicious. Why is he jogging here?
Man 2: Running?
Man 1: Fleeing?
Man 1, 2, & 3: Must be fleeing
Man 2: But where’s he fleeing from?
Man 1: That empty house around the way.
Man 3: Last week they saw him looking,
V. The Incident (cont)
Man 2: lurking,
Man 3: scheming.
Man 2 & 3: Lock up your doors.
Man 3: Wasn’t he the one that they saw?
Man 2: Bet he stole that pistol from my car.
Man 1: And now he’s back and we’re not safe
Man 1, 2, & 3: as long as they’re around.
Man 3: They’re always the ones.
Man 2: Those people taking all our shit.
Man 1: You know he’s dang’rous, prob’bly armed.
Man 1, 2, & 3: That’s it I’ve had it, get your gun!
(Who’s that? That black man.)
(Who’s that? That black man.)
(Who’s that? That black man.)
(Who’s that? That black man.)
(Who’s that? That black man.)
(Who’s that? That black man.)
Ahmaud: Black man.
What about me is so dangerous?
Is it my skin?
The complexion I’m in?
I dress the part, step carefully.
Twisting, bending just to align.
My mother taught—move cautiously, not for myself but for your peace of mind. I was raised to trust in humanity.
Yet warned of the fear that you hold for me.
The stories told, the lies ingrained turned ignorance into a loaded aim.
Will I ever just be me?
Will I feel the freedom to be?
To run, to shine, to dream, to be.
To just be me.
VI. Running From, Running To
I am enraged when I think of Ahmaud’s last day.
(what made you act in this way?)
What made you point a gun at a stranger?
Why couldn’t you see him as your neighbor?
You ran away to a place where anger reigned.
That day Ahmaud ran, but it was you who turned away from his humanity.
Our shared humanity.
If you can’t see me in your eyes how can I see myself in you?
But I ran away too. As I’m faced with a piercing truth.
In my silence I leave values unspoken. Inaction revealing something broken.
I chose comfort not compassion, afraid to fall from grace.
My standing as an ally was a burden I couldn’t face.
I made enemies of strangers with no thought of sympathy.
Blind to how the love I held from you was there to set us free.
I ran away (ran away ran away) though it seemed so mundane.
The ways I disconnected then now lead to deeper pain for our humanity.
Our shared humanity.
If you can’t see me in your eyes how can I see myself in you?
How can I take a diff’rent view?
If we stand unafraid, open hands, hearts unchained.
Can we find our way again, and again?
One soul, woven in harmony.
Where healing can begin when we don’t run away, don’t run away.
We can’t make the same mistake.
Don’t run away, don’t run away.
Stand in love and the hate will fade when we don’t run away.
Wanda Cooper-Jones:
My son, Ahmaud, was killed in February of 2020. Breonna Taylor was killed in March, and our hearts were broken. Soon I realized this was more than grief, it was a movement. People were calling for justice, not just in my community but people all around the nation and the world. They marched, they protested, they raised their voices, and their voices carried me forward, even in my pain.
VII. No More!
(Hmm)
Protester: How long must we watch our people die?
Another man struck down in broad daylight.
Are these modern lynchings justified?
When will we be human in your eyes?
Tell me how long must our mothers grieve?
With their children lying at your feet.
What will it take to find some empathy?
Such indifference while our bodies bleed.
Time and time again, gave you the chance to make amends.
We can’t stand by like we have before.
We will wait no more.
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
‘Cause we’re tired, tired, tired to the core.
Is there nothing that our laws can do?
Do they work for me or just for you?
The D.A. works so hard to hide the truth.
Played these games, it’s time to make our move.
No more asking, no more soft demands.
Hold our people’s future in your hands.
To this point we’ve met you decently but with no justice you will find no peace.
Choir: (protest sounds)
Say his name! Say his name! Say his name! Say his name! Say his name! Say his name!
Say her name, say her name, say her name, say her name!
Say their name, say their name, say their name, say their name!
Protester: Not gonna wait for you to change.
Ahmaud we will always say your name.
We’re rising up, we won’t be ignored.
Hear us cry no more.
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
‘Cause we’re tired, tired, tired to the core.
Tired to the core.
Tired to the core.
VIII. Running Free
Wanda Cooper-Jones: Running free
No more fears, no more chains.
Running free, far away from the pain.
You are finally at peace, your spirit at ease.
But now I can’t help but mourn for what should be.
As I hold you in my memories, I know you’re holding me.
And as light as the breeze, you’re running free.
Running free, even though my heart aches.
Running free, now you’re finally safe but I’m not sure if I know how to let go.
What I would do to hold you, oh so close.
Now I know that it’s your time to fly.
When I look to the sky, in my heart, I believe you’re running free.
Choir: Carry on within us, staying strong within us, you’ll live on within us, Ahmaud.
(Carry on within us, staying strong within us, you’ll live on within us, Ahmaud.)
In every fight, in every prayer. With every tear I know in my heart and soul You are there.
(Carry on within us, staying strong within us, you’ll live on within us, Ahmaud.)
I see your smile, I hear your voice. Your love now flows through me.
My Ahmaud.
(Carry on within us, staying strong within us, you’ll live on within us, Ahmaud.)
My baby boy, Ahmaud you’re free (Your spirit’s free)
Ahmaud (rest free.) Ahmaud (run free).
You’ll run free Ahmaud.
Free, from the world, full of pain you’ll be free.
Though you’re gone, you remain.
In the depths of my heart, here’s where you are.
Far away, but through our love we’re not apart.
Yes, I know that our battle is won.
I still miss you my son.
So as you run fast and free, please wait up for me…
TR. 9: DEEP RIVER (ARR. ALEXANDER LLOYD
Deep river, my home is over Jordan.
Deep river Lord, I want to cross over into campground.
Ooh. Deep river, my home is over Jordan.
Deep river Lord, I want to cross over into campground.
Oh don’t you want to go, to that gospel feast, that promised land where all is peace, all is peace.
Deep river Lord.
I want to cross over into campground
Deep river
TR. 10: POOR WAYFARING STRANGER
(ARR. ALEXANDER LLOYD BLAKE)
I am a poor wayfaring stranger a trav’lin’ through this world of woe, but there’s no sickness, toil nor danger in that bright land to which I go.
(I’m just a-goin’, I’m just a-goin’)
I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger a trav’lin’ through this world of woe, but there’s no sickness, toil nor danger in that bright land to which I go.
I’m goin’ there to see my father
I’m goin’ there no more to roam.
I’m just a goin’ over Jordan
I’m just a goin’ over home
I know dark clouds will gather round me
I know my way is rough and steep
But beauteous fields lie just before me
Where God’s redeemed their vigils keep
I’m goin’ there to see my mother
I’m goin’ there no more to roam
I’m just a goin’ over Jordan
I’m just a goin’ over home
I’m goin’ there to see my loved ones
I’m goin’ there no more to roam
I’m just a goin’ over Jordan
I’m just a goin’ over home
I’m just a goin’ over home
TR. 10: NO MORE! (A CAPPELLA) FROM RUNNING FROM,
RUNNING TO: A MUSICAL REFLECTION ON AHMAUD ARBERY (Hmm)
Protester: How long must we watch our people die?
Another man struck down in broad daylight.
Are these modern lynchings justified?
When will we be human in your eyes?
Tell me how long must our mothers grieve.
With their children lying at your feet.
What will it take to find some empathy?
Such indifference while our bodies bleed.
Time and time again, gave you the chance to make amends.
We can’t stand by like we have before.
We will wait no more.
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
‘Cause we’re tired, tired, tired to the core.
Is there nothing that our laws can do?
Do they work for me or just for you?
The D.A. works so hard to hide the truth.
Played these games, it’s time to make our move.
No more asking, no more soft demands.
Hold our people’s future in your hands.
To this point we’ve met you decently but with no justice you will find no peace.
Choir: Say his name! Say his name! Say his name! Say his name! Say his name! Say his name!
Say her name, say her name, say her name, say her name!
Say their name, say their name, say their name, say their name!
Protester: Not gonna wait for you to change.
Ahmaud we will always say your name.
We’re rising up, we won’t be ignored.
Hear us cry no more.
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
No, no, no, no more!
‘Cause we’re tired, tired, tired to the core.
Tired to the core.
Tired to the core.
TONALITY
TONALITY is a GRAMMY® Award-winning ensemble, established in 2016, known for “open-hearted singing”. Tonality was recognized as a 2024 GRAMMY® winner in New Age, Ambient or Chant Album for Carla Patullo's “So She Howls” with the Scorchio Quartet. Executive and Founding Artistic Director, Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake, imagined Tonality as an ensemble that represents the diverse cultures and ethnicities within the Los Angeles area. Within a year of its forming, Tonality’s mission evolved to use its collective voices to inspire, innovate and spark social change through the power of diversity. The group premiered its first album in 2019, titled “Sing About It”. Tonality received the 2020 Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, a prize given for commitment to singing and commissioning new works. Tonality has collaborated with choral and film composers to create the works presented in concert, striving for diverse voices and perspectives within the composer community. Collaborators include Joe Trapanese, Roman Gianarthur, Gaayatri Kaundinya, Reena Esmail, Shawn Kirchner, Zanaida Robles, Moira Smiley, Alex Wurman, Kris Bowers and Michael J. Giacchino. Tonality has performed with MacArthur Fellow Taylor Mac, Pete Townsend of The Who, pianist Lara Downes, internationally acclaimed performer Björk, Dutch DJ Tiësto, Kelly Clarkson in support of her album “Chemistry”, and Scott Hoying (Pentatonix) on his single, “Rose Without the Thorns”, for which Blake received a 2025 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella.
ALEXANDER LLOYD BLAKE
Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake is a conductor, composer/arranger, vocal contractor, and music activist whose work spans classical performance, commercial media, and socially engaged art. He is the Founding Artistic Director of Tonality, the GRAMMY® Award–winning choral ensemble recognized for using music to inspire collective action and foster human connection through diverse cultural storytelling.
Blake is a trusted collaborator in the film, television, and advertising industries, known for his vocal leadership, arranging expertise, and ability to bring sonic cohesion to creative projects. As a vocal contractor, conductor, and vocal arranger, his credits include Respect, Spiderhead (Netflix), and Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.), where he served as choirmaster. He has worked across episodic television on projects such as The Other Black Girl (Hulu), Young Love (Max), America the Beautiful (Disney+), The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO), The Man Who Fell to Earth (Showtime), and The G Word with Adam Conover (Netflix).
As a studio vocalist, Blake has contributed to the soundtracks of major motion pictures including Jordan Peele’s Us, Disney’s The Lion King, and Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He performed at the 92nd Academy Awards with Cynthia Erivo and prepared singers for the 2020 GRAMMY Awards.
In May 2025, Blake composed and premiered “Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery” with Tonality at the Wallis Annenberg Center. The work, a 30-minute choral suite featuring orchestra and soloists, was described by the Los Angeles Times as a “powerful meditation on remembrance and justice,” with Ahmaud Arbery’s mother calling it “beautiful… I wish I could play it over and over again.” The project exemplifies Blake’s vision for music as a tool for social healing, and his commitment to uplifting stories of dignity, loss, and transformation through the human voice.
Blake’s arrangements are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Alliance Music Publishing, and Walton Music. He earned a GRAMMY® nomination for his work on Scott Hoying’s single “Rose Without the Thorns,” featuring Tonality and saje. His concert and broadcast work includes music for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game, Kelly Clarkson’s Chemistry flash mob, and the GAP holiday campaign #GiveYourGift, for which he co-arranged and conducted music that was celebrated as one of the season’s most emotionally resonant ad campaigns.
Previously, Blake served as Principal Associate Conductor of the National Children’s Chorus and the Los Angeles High School for the Performing Arts, helping to shape two of the nation’s leading youth music programs. Across every context from concert hall to soundstage —he brings creative precision, emotional clarity, and collaborative integrity to the projects he leads.
Blake holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Southern California, a Master of Music from UCLA, and a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) in Vocal Performance from Wake Forest University.
WILD UP
Called “ a raucous, grungy, irresistibly exuberant…fun-loving, exceptionally virtuosic family” (New York Times), Wild Up has been lauded as one of new music’s most exciting groups by virtually every significant institution and critic within earshot. Artistic Director Christopher Rountree founded the orchestral collective in 2010 to challenge traditional concert practices by experimenting with diverse methodologies, approaches, and contexts.
After a decade and a half of rampant creativity and curiosity, Wild Up is the ambassador of West Coast music. The group has collaborated with a wide range of composers, performers, and cultural institutions, premiering and creating several hundred new works. We partnered with the LA Phil and REDCAT to present a two-month long festival and gallery exhibition To The Fullest: The Music of Arthur Russell and Julius Eastman, accompanied Björk at Goldenvoice’s FYF Fest, sang into a Picasso with Pamela Z at LACMA, and created Democracy Sessions playing against growing autocracy with Raven Chacon, Ted Hearne, Chana Porter, Ursula K. LeGuin, Harmony Holiday, Saul Williams, and Karlheinz Stockhausen at MOCA. We premiered David Lang and Mark Dion’s Anatomy Theater at LA Opera, often collaborated with the Martha Graham Dance Company, and performed scores for Under the Skin by Mica Levi and Punch-Drunk Love by Jon Brion at the Regent Theater and Ace Hotel. We were booed out of Toronto for playing a piece too quietly. Wild Up premiered a new opera by Julia Holter at National Sawdust, debuted an avant-pop work by Scott Walker at Walt Disney Concert Hall, sustained 12 hours of Ragnar Kjartansson’s Bliss at REDCAT, and championed Julius Eastman’s music worldwide. We blared a noise concert as fanfare for the groundbreaking of Frank Gehry’s building on Grand Avenue and First Street. The group has been lavished with praise by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, NPR, Pitchfork, and many more publications and critics.
