Advancing social justice actions through music and media
It Must Be Now! explores subject matter that includes institutional racism; environmental, economic, gender, and health injustices; police brutality; and abolitionism.
Terri Lyne Carrington; photo by Jacobs
"Our biggest objective is to inspire activism and enact change. We want to acknowledge historical perspectives of various injustices but move toward this moment, imagining what could and should be reality now.”
— Fred Harris, Director of Wind and Jazz Ensembles
Under the auspices of CAST’s MIT Sounding series, It Must Be Now! (IMBN!), led by Fred Harris, brings together three leading musicians (Terri Lyne Carrington, Braxton Cook, and Sean Jones) to collectively compose a large-scale work for MIT musicians on the overall theme of racial justice.
Collaborating with multimedia artists, MIT students and community members, and others beyond MIT, this two-year project seeks to address racial and social injustices and their confluences. IMBN! explores institutional racism; environmental, economic, and health injustices; police brutality; and abolitionism.
During the spring 2021 semester, Carrington, Cook, and Jones will workshop their compositions and participate in virtual masterclasses with MIT students. Over the course of the 2021-22 academic year, portions of the composition and its media components will be released online, leading up to a live performance involving the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, MIT Wind Ensemble, MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble, other vocalists and instrumentalists, narration, multimedia, and all three composers.
Suggested links