"The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others have forced people from just about all walks of life to take another look at not only themselves, but the contemporary conversation of race. In this show I engage the contemporary and historical conversation of race with the 13th Amendment and classical music as the guide."
-Garrett McQueen
Host, The Sound of 13
Episode 1: “The Florida Suite”
Frederick Delius may be a composer whose name you know. Or maybe he’s a composer whose name you don’t know. Either way, what you should know is that this Englishman’s music has a connection to American slavery. Garrett McQueen highlights this connection and more in The Sound of 13. |
Episode 2: “Negro Melodies”
When Antonin Dvorak came to America from Bohemia he fell in love with what he called Negro melodies. Those melodies would play a key role in the composition of some of his most famous music! Garrett McQueen invites you to join him for a closer look at this and other pieces of music inspired by those Negro melodies in episode 2 of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 3: “The Black Church”
If there’s any American institution that’s been a catalyst of freedom for Black people, it’s the Black church. It’s not only home to fiery sermons and thought-provoking ideas of Black freedom, but also Black music! Atlanta-based composer Carlo Simon had this in mind when he wrote “Amen”, which will be featured alongside lots more on episode 3 of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 5: The Diaspora”
When the 13th Amendment was ratified the work for true freedom for Afro-Americans was only just beginning. As far as a Black man from England was concerned, composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor, it was work that he felt that he had to be engaged in as well. Music by this Afro-Englishman and more on episode 5 of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 6: “Black Codes”
Do you know what Black Codes were? They were special laws held over the heads of post-Civil War Black Americans in response to their so-called freedom: laws that were particularly harsh in the states of Mississippi and South Carolina. Garrett McQueen invites you to learn a little more about Black Codes with a side of music inspired by Mississippi and South Carolina on this edition of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 7: “Father of the Spiritual”
Black people born during America’s Reconstruction Era faced more challenges than people today could ever imagine. Those challenges still weren’t enough to hold back Henry Thacker Burleigh. Garrett McQueen shares music by this American hero and others on episode 7 of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 9: “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed”
Their names were Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Kenneth Chamberlain, Amadou Diallo and John Crawford: seven victims of police brutality and seven men who have been immortalized in a piece of music by Joel Thompson. Join Garrett McQueen for an emotional performance of “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed”, and more. |
Episode 10: “Contemporary Black Performers”
The manifestations of the 13th amendment have impacted countless Black musicians, including the life and work of the late maestro Paul Freeman. Join Garrett McQueen to learn a little more about Maestro Freeman and a few other contemporary Black musicians who have pushed for change in this edition of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 12: “The Sounds of 14 and 15”
The 15th amendment to the United States Constitution promised everyone’s right to vote, but 100 years after its ratification Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was still helping Black communities fight for that right. Garrett McQueen will speak to the march on Selma and share a little music from the movie, Selma, on the next edition of The Sound of 13. |
Episode 13: “Blind Tom”
“Blind Tom” Wiggins was born autistic and blind on a Southern plantation back in the mid-19 century, but he still managed to become one of the country’s busiest pianists! Garrett McQueen shares a “Blind Tom” composition, the second symphony of William Grant Still, and more in the final edition of “The Sound of 13”. |