Elegy - In Memoriam Stephen Lawrence memorializes Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager murdered in 1993 by a gang of young white men. British composer Philip Herbert paid tribute to him with a poignant elegy composed for 18 string players—each representing one year of Lawrence’s life—that the composer describes as “a gesture of empathy” and hopes will help us “press together across our communities to help realize [Stephen’s] dreams.”

The music is full of soulful harmonies with gentle dissonances in sonorous chords, under a plaintive melody, which characterize the heavy emotions brought to mind by this tragedy.

Watch the Full Concert: https://mnorch.vhx.tv/videos/heart-and-hope