Tonality brings America Will Be And A Musical Reflection On Ahmaud Arbery to Sankofa Choral Festival in San Diego

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Tonality Brings America Will Be And A Musical Reflection On Ahmaud Arbery To The Sankofa Choral Festival In San Diego

Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake Directs the 16-Member Ensemble in a Free Concert at First United Methodist Church of San Diego on November 7, 2026

SAN DIEGO, CA, October 5, 2026: On Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 4:00 p.m., Tonality, the Los Angeles-based social justice choral ensemble founded and led by Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake, will present America Will Be at the Sankofa Choral Festival at First United Methodist Church of San Diego (FUMCSD). The 16-member vocal ensemble, directed by Blake, will perform a social justice-themed program that includes Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery, a choral work composed by Blake and co-written with Ogi, drawn from Tonality’s album Songs of Remembering. The concert is free, made available through donor support.

The Evening
The program divides evenly between two works: half of the concert presents America Will Be and half presents Running From, Running To. Vocalist Jamal M. Moore joins Tonality for the performance. The Sankofa Choral Festival, held November 7 and 8 at FUMCSD, benefits the church’s Racial Justice Ministry.

The November 7 concert brings Tonality’s mission to a San Diego audience: a room of neighbors, artists, and community members bearing witness together to stories that demand to be told.

The Works
America Will Be was created during the 2020 pandemic, when many people slowed down and looked more closely at the world around them. As questions of equality and justice came into sharper focus, the pause invited us to consider the America we were taught alongside the America many have experienced. The music speaks to the stories that too often go unheard, in styles as varied as the topics themselves: racial justice, immigration, climate change, LGBTQ rights, and mental health. It lifts the most vulnerable, invites reflection, and sings of peace and unity. Through song, we look toward a more perfect union for ourselves and for future generations.

Songs of Remembering (released February 27, 2026) centers on “Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery,” a choral composition honoring the memory of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man killed while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia in February 2020. Co-written by Blake and Ogi, the work uses choral music to bear witness, grieve collectively, and demand accountability, a direct expression of Tonality’s mission at the intersection of art and social justice.

Event Details

Date and Time: Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. PST

Venue: Sanctuary, First United Methodist Church of San Diego (FUMCSD), 2111 Camino del Rio South, Mission Valley, San Diego, CA 92108

Admission: Free, made available through donor support. Tickets are available through the festival page at fumcsd.org.

Program: Music from America Will Be and Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery, presented in equal halves.

Music: America Will Be, Songs of Remembering

About Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake

Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake is a conductor, composer, and arranger whose work uses choral music to tell human stories of justice, grief, and belonging. As the founding Artistic Director of Tonality, he has spent a decade building an ensemble that turns the concert hall into a space for empathy and community dialogue, with programs on the subjects most choirs leave untouched. His composition Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery, created in collaboration with the Arbery family, anchors Tonality's album Songs of Remembering. Blake received a Grammy nomination as co-arranger of "Rose Without the Thorns" (Scott Hoying, featuring Tonality and säje), and is among the speakers selected for TEDx South Central 2026. His work also reaches the screen, with vocal and choral credits on films including The Odyssey, Whalefall, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California. 

About Tonality

Two-time Grammy-winning Tonality is a Los Angeles-based social justice choral ensemble dedicated to the power of music as a vehicle for equity, healing, and community. Founded and led by Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake, Tonality performs across genres and platforms, from concert stages to film soundtracks, bringing choral voices to audiences who might not otherwise encounter them. In 2026, Tonality celebrates its 10th anniversary.

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