Who is Alexander Lloyd Blake and what made you form Tonality?
My name is Alexander Lloyd Blake, and I am the Executive and Founding Artistic Director of Tonality, a Grammy-award winning vocal ensemble in Los Angeles.
From its inception, Tonality has been about using music to prioritise the wellbeing and sense of belonging for members, especially for marginalised and underrepresented groups. The founding of Tonality came from a personal need to belong. As a Black classical musician who grew up singing Gospel music, I found myself in many situations where the culture that reflected my background was not always treated with the same respect that was given to other genres. I realised that when music was respected and variation was appreciated, the people singing and listening could feel more whole, and I set out to create an environment that could serve that function. Shortly after, the mission of Tonality’s concerts expanded to speak to issues around social justice and equity.
What distinguishes Tonality from other choirs?
I founded Tonality, a diverse classical choir, in 2016 with the goal of increasing representation of BIPOC and other marginalised voices in classical music. For too long, classical music has lacked diversity in both its performers and composers. Tonality serves as an example of a professional choir intentionally designed to prioritise diversity within its ensemble singers, musical compositions and audience members.
This also lends itself to the versatility of the choir. Because of the ensemble’s vast range of expertise in various styles and cultures, the group can sing classical music and jump to a Hindustani composition and then perform a pop song. While many groups sing various music styles, it has been our vision and mission to make sure that all the styles that we perform are done with as much attention and respect to the performance practice as possible, and this is achieved at a high level due to having those voices within our ensemble.
How does social justice fit into your work?
The mission of Tonality’s concerts expanded to speak to issues around social justice and equity. These events have presented music and stories around issues such as gun violence, homelessness and displacement, Trans rights, climate change, criminal justice reform, women’s rights, healthcare and more. Our concerts offer a unique choral music environment where audience members are exposed to compelling music, personal narratives and stories from community members and non-profit organisations, inspiring civic engagement and activism. We are committed to using music as a tool to empower our community and inspire active engagement with the crucial social justice themes featured in our concerts.
Our music, coupled with storytelling, addresses systems of inequity based on race, gender, sexuality, financial means, immigration status and ability by highlighting these subjects and collaborating with relevant organisations. Especially due to ability, Tonality has worked with Pro Bono ASL, a BIPOC and LGBTQ organisation that provides sign language interpretation for each of our concerts since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Many musical events do not provide access to the Deaf and Hard of hearing community members, but we continue to break barriers to make sure all feel welcome and included.
What are your goals as an artist and for Tonality?
I am working on a new composition for Tonality about Amaud Arbery, entitled: Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery, that will be premiering in spring 2025 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Arts in Beverly Hills. Aside from this composition, I have worked on several choral arrangements for television and film projects, and I would love to continue doing the same.
The work that Tonality has done in the most recent year of touring the US has offered some valuable experiences, and we are looking forward to expanding our performances throughout the country and internationally! Being able to use our music to reach into communities for positive change and empathy is a joy and we cannot wait to see where we can bring our passion next!
IAM was in conversation with Alexander Lloyd Blake, the Executive and Founding Artistic Director of Tonality, a Grammy-award winning vocal ensemble based in Los Angeles.
To discover more about Tonality, visit www.ourtonality.org