The Washington Chorus is hosting Justice & Peace, a moving and urgent musical reflection that calls for us to build a world where every voice is celebrated and included.

Justice & Peace is also a notable event as it marks Artistic Director Eugene Rogers’ first full choral and orchestral debut with TWC at The Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Considering this, we sat down with Eugene to ask him a few questions about his experience developing Justice & Peace.

What does Justice & Peace mean to you?

This is such a tough question because the words “justice” and “peace” have vastly different meanings depending on the context. A better question would be to ask if I believe that justice and peace is truly possible in our world rife with injustice and conflict?

The answer is yes. We should never give up on working for justice and peace. I believe people want to live in a world where everyone is mutually respected regardless of their race, gender, religion, and/or socio-economic status. It is possible to build a world where humans can work collaboratively to solve their problems through kindness and respect rather than violence, aggression, and destruction.

Our concert hopes to play a small, but significant, role in conveying this message. Damien Geter’s Justice Symphony says so much about humanity’s resilience and ability to work together. We are stronger together. There is no better time for us to perform this repertoire than right now.

Justice & Peace features two world premiere pieces commissioned by TWC. How is developing new work different from an already established piece?

New works provide a rewarding experience in the collaboration between composer, chorus, and orchestra. These works are far more open to interpretation and provide unique opportunities for me to add my own (and the choir’s!) personal voice. I do this while still doing justice to the composer’s work by accentuating their desired tempi and musical wishes. It is an entirely different challenge than performing an already established work where the audience has preconceived expectations as to what a piece should sound like.

I commissioned two pieces for this concert. Roshanne Etezady’s “Become the Sky” and Damien Geter’s “Symphony no. 1, Justice Symphony.”

When I commissioned Roshanne, I knew that this would be my first performance with the full chorus and orchestra of The Washington Chorus. Combined with entering a new post-lockdown era of performing arts, I wanted to open the concert with something heralding, celebratory, and immediate. Dr. Etezady chose to highlight her own cultural background by choosing the lauded 13th century Persian poet Rumi’s work Quietness as the source of the text for “Become the Sky,” a poem and song that speaks to the moment we’re in.

I knew that I wanted a piece that would allow Damien to be free to display his cultural background and his compositional voice when I commissioned him in 2019. He pitched the idea of a “Justice Symphony” and I loved it. Using the rich African American songs from the Civil Rights era and “Precious Lord,” a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s, Damien’s work is a perfect balance of his musical ingenuity and a tasteful reminder of pertinent issues of the day. With mixed emotions, I admit that “Justice Symphony” is in some ways far more relevant now than it was in 2019. These songs remind of us of the power of community uniting to overcome injustices and opposition.

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

We are in middle of my favorite part of the rehearsal process where we have broken past the routine of learning the pitches and rhythms of the composition. Now we are experiencing the joy of working to become a complete ensemble who breathes and communicates together. We need a unified voice so that we can engage the audience and accurately convey the text and musical messages of these powerful works!

Assuming you have put in the adequate work in during the early parts of the process, you can feel the energy shift in the room once you reach this part of the learning process. It’s thrilling!

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” heavily references Walt Whitman’s Reconciliation as a source of inspiration. The specific line “word over all, beautiful as the sky! Beautiful that war, and all its deeds of carnage, must in time be utterly lost” carries heavy significance to the concert. What is your personal connection to and interpretation of the poem?

This text is powerful because it is somehow agonizing and hopeful at the same time. It’s like being in the middle of one’s toughest experience but still having the strength to see the peace that lies ahead. This is the challenging reality of war. Despite the wretched nature of the pain and loss, it will eventually end and make room for new beginnings.

It’s wrong to say that there’s beauty in the atrocities currently happening such as the Ukrainian war or the countless lives lost due to the epidemic of mass shootings in the United States, but Whitman’s text encourages us that hopefully one day we might be able to look back on these events and be moved by the resilient human nature in the face of struggles and challenges.

Justice & Peace also happens to be your first major chorus and orchestra concert as TWC’s Artistic Director. How are you feeling about finally getting to direct the full combined chorus and orchestra?

It is hard to believe that after almost two years with me as Artistic Director that we are still talking about firsts! I am both excited and nervous in all the right ways, but I don’t want to focus on that fact too much. I would prefer the focus to be on the concert as it reflects the long history of this organization’s musical excellence and the depth of this poignant music and text.

That said, I am most excited about having our guest soloists Karen Slack and Kerry Wilkerson join our chorus and seeing everyone’s faces as we get to share this music and these stories with our community here in the DMV.

Is there anything you’d like to highlight for the audience before they join us for Justice & Peace?

I want to encourage the audience to take some time beforehand to read the text of (and listen to) Vaughan William’s powerful Dona Nobis Pacem. The text combined with the dynamic music is an unforgettable experience.

I also hope that folks will bring an open mind to the Justice Symphony. There are words and phrases you will recognize but revived with the flavor of new and fresh music. Damien did this to offer the listener a chance to reflect on the same words we have heard for years. The Justice Symphony is a palpable and powerful depiction of the struggle for justice and peace.

I hope the audience, regardless of their background, age, or creed, will embrace this music and the Justice Symphony as their own. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr said it best with “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects ALL indirectly.”

Thank you Eugene!

Don’t miss Justice & Peace, a concert featuring two world-premiere pieces by Damien Geter and Roshanne Etezady, a dynamic orchestra, and a glorious wall of sound from over 150 singers, “Justice & Peace” is sure to be a concert to remember.

Join us at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, June 12 at 5pm for “Justice & Peace,” a live music experience. Tickets are on sale now here. ($15-$59)

An Interview with TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers on "Justice & Peace"