Kansas City Symphony - To Awaken The Sleeper CD (Preorder: Ships July 24, 2026)

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.