“36 Blocks,” a musical work commemorating the Tulsa Massacre, recognized by The American Prize

“36 Blocks,” a musical work commemorating the Tulsa Massacre, by Oklahoma composer Heather Koehn, with poetry by Quraysh Ali Lansana, has received a Special Judges Citation from The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts. Recognizing its “Vital Perspective on Historical Events Through Words and Music” “36 Blocks” commemorates the events of exactly one hundred years ago, May 31 and June 1, 1921, when hundreds of Black citizens were killed by mobs of whites in the community of Greenwood in Tulsa, at that time one of the wealthiest Black communities in the United States. Approximately 36 blocks of Greenwood were destroyed.

Heather Koehn

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation's most comprehensive series of non-profit competitions in the musical and theater arts, unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, ensembles and composers in the United States based on submitted recordings. The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. Applications for the 2022 contests are being accepted at least through the covid-extended deadline of September 9, 2021. (theamericanprize.org)

The composer writes: ““36 Blocks” was commissioned by the Bixby High School Wind ensemble in Bixby, Oklahoma, to be premiered at the 2019 Oklahoma Music Educators Association Convention.   The piece's influence include ragtime, gospel, 1920's jazz and the spiritual "Hold on Just a Little While Longer". The last chord remains unresolved in hopes that a new ending can be written someday when resolution and reconciliation is achieved in Tulsa.” Performed at the Oklahoma Music Educator's Association 77th Winter Conference, January 18, 2019, at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, Tulsa, OK, conducted by Jeremy Parker.

Heather Ellis Koehn (b. 1979) is an Oklahoma-based composer, arranger, and educator. Heather's original compositions have been performed by groups throughout the southern United States, and she was recently named a winner of the 2018 Dallas Winds Fanfare Competition. Heather received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. In addition to writing concert works and marching band arrangements, Heather is a National Board Certified Teacher and directs junior high band at Coweta Public Schools and is the creative director of the award-winning Coweta Tiger Pride Marching Band. Heather's compositions and arrangements provide a "meaningful experience to performer and listener alike", and she believes that music can be a most powerful force for social change.    www.heatherelliskoehn.com