Omar Thomas (b. 1984) began life in Brooklyn as the son of Guyanese parents. After completing an undergraduate music education degree at James Madison University, he set off for Boston and the New England Conservatory, where he earned a Master of Music degree in jazz composition. While completing this program, at age 23, he was appointed to the faculty of the Berklee College of Music to teach harmony. After several years teaching at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, he begins a faculty appointment at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas, Austin in Fall of 2020. He studied with Ken Schaphorst, Frank Carlberg, and Maria Schneider. His music of all sorts (original jazz charts, arrangements, and classical pieces) has been winning awards for years, including the first ever William Revelli Composition Prize to be awarded to an African-American composer (for 2018’s Come Sunday). He is a relatively recent arrival to the wind band world: his first piece in the genre was 2016’s Of Our New Day Begun. But he has continued to write path-breaking pieces for bands (5 of them at this writing), and has joined up with other young wind band composers in the Blue Dot Collective to promote and publish his award-winning music. Read more about him at his website, Berklee College of Music, and the Wind Repertory Project.

Thomas wrote Of Our New Day Begun in response to the murder of nine Black worshippers by a white supremacist at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015. Thomas elaborates in the program notes from his website (I’ve added links):

Of Our New Day Begun was written to honor nine beautiful souls who lost their lives to a callous act of hatred and domestic terrorism on the evening of June 17, 2015 while worshipping in their beloved sanctuary, the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (affectionately referred to as “Mother Emanuel”) in Charleston, South Carolina. My greatest challenge in creating this work was walking the line between reverence for the victims and their families, and honoring my strong, bitter feelings towards both the perpetrator and the segments of our society that continue to create people like him. I realized that the most powerful musical expression I could offer incorporated elements from both sides of that line – embracing my pain and anger while being moved by the displays of grace and forgiveness demonstrated by the victims’ families.

Historically, black Americans have, in great number, turned to the church to find refuge and grounding in the most trying of times. Thus, the musical themes and ideas for Of Our New Day Begun are rooted in the Black American church tradition. The piece is anchored by James and John Johnson’s time-honored song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (known endearingly as the “Negro National Anthem”), and peppered with blues harmonies and melodies. Singing, stomping, and clapping are also prominent features of this work, as they have always been a mainstay of black music traditions, and the inclusion of the tambourine in these sections is a direct nod to black worship services.

“Of Our New Day Begun” begins with a unison statement of a melodic cell from “Lift Every Voice….” before suddenly giving way to ghostly, bluesy chords in the horns and bassoons. This section moves to a dolorous and bitter dirge presentation of the anthem in irregularly shifting 12/8 and 6/8 meter, which grows in intensity as it offers fleeting glimmers of hope and relief answered by cries of blues-inspired licks. A maddening, ostinato-driven section representing a frustration and weariness that words cannot, grows into a group singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” fueled by the stomping and clapping reminiscent of the black church.

In the latter half of the piece the music turns hopeful, settling into 9/8 time and modulating up a step during its ascent to a glorious statement of the final lines of “Lift Every Voice….” in 4/4, honoring the powerful display of humanity set forth by the families of the victims. There is a long and emotional decrescendo that lands on a pensive and cathartic gospel-inspired hymnsong. Returning to 9/8 time, the piece comes to rest on a unison F that grows from a very distant hum to a thunderous roar, driven forward by march-like stomping to represent the ceaseless marching of black Americans towards equality.

Of Our New Day Begun was commissioned by a consortium of 39 schools (see the full list in the score), led by Gary Schallert and Jeff Bright at Western Kentucky University, who premiered it at the CBDNA Southern Division Conference in Charleston on February 20, 2016, just months after the shooting.

Here is the premiere performance:

John Legend performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” unaccompanied, for a COVID-era graduation ceremony:

…performed again by Aretha Franklin:

Visit Omar Thomas’s website to learn more about the piece.