Elijah McClain and Music

Elijah McClain was a violinist murdered by Aurora police on the night of Aug 24, 2019. His name was repeated on the streets along with those of others recently killed by police -George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, and others - during the Black Lives Matter uprisings of 2020. Photographs emerged of McClain playing violin for kittens in an animal shelter and for patients in a hospital. And his last words, recorded by the body cam of one of the murdering officers, went viral, shocking and moving many people. Numerous "violin vigils" were held after his death, some of which were violently disrupted by police. "They unleashed him, and now he’s touching the world," said his mother, Sheneen McClain.

What is the meaning of Elijah McClain for violinists and for all other musicians? How does justice for Elijah impact music making? What music would Elijah McClain have made if his life had not been violently cut short? How does police murder affect music? What is the role of music and musicians in police and prison abolitionism?